Cold Machines
by BattleUnit3
Summary: They studied Organics. All they ever saw was fear from Sentient Synthetics. Geth had no place in their world. But by chance they discovered a species on the brink of extinction. They worked along side their creations as equals. They didn't care who or what you are. They only cared about their City.
1. Chapter 1

Cold Machines

 **Hello I am Battle_Unit_3(don't ask what happened to 1 and 2) and this my story. This is my first time trying something like this and probably wont post often. Feedback would be appreciated and hope you enjoy it.**

 **I do not own in any shape or form Mass Effect and Frostpunk. They are owned respectively by Bioware and 11bit Studio.**

 **Also I am not certain if Automatons are sentient or not but considering that with all the tech they almost do anything including research and work almost every building with 95% efficiency They at least should be on the path like Geth to true becoming true AI.**

* * *

…Hull Damage Detected….Hull Integrity at 58%...

…Kinetic Barriers at 13%...

…Consensus Reached… Retreat is required….

…Approaching Relay…

…Warning. Warning. Relay has not been scouted unknown exit point….

…Survival of Geth is priority….

….Hull Damage Detected…Hull Integrity 37%...

…Entering mass less corridor….

…ALERT! ALERT! Eezo core damaged! Impossible to remain in corridor….

…Reentering real space….Vessel has sustained heavy damage…

…Entering planetary gravity well…No control…The vessel is on a crash trajectory…

…Planetary Scans inconclusive…Unknown planet… Extremely low Temperature detected...

….Inconsistent with planet location within the Goldilocks zone of star…

...Prepare for Impa…

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Captain Mirus Valentius of the Turian Hierarchy. Has had an interesting day. First he had rescued a bunch of Asari from pirates and on the way to the nearest colony to release them his ship encountered a Geth frigate. Geth haven't left the Perseus Veil in 300 years what this one was doing only the Spirits know. But he knows what must be done so he order his weapons officer to fire upon the frigate.

For the Hierarchy's finest Cruiser the battle was already decided but those synthetics didn't need to watch their G's as they had no bodies and thus could pull some insane moves. That didn't mean that the Geth would escape of course. It just meant a little bit of chase. And Mirus fancied himself a hunter.

It was all fun and games until the smaller of the two ships decided to make run for it. Towards a deactivated and uncharted Relay. Of course Captain Valentius didn't want to report to his superiors that not only did he let Geth frigate escape but also failed stop it from violating one of the Council's most important laws. So he decided to follow it through the Relay hoping to at least destroy it.

Unfortunately once through the Relay on the other side he discovered a disappointing system with no garden worlds and no Geth. His science officer concluded that the Geth ship must have been too damaged and during transit fell from the mass less corridor. This usually means the ship is completely destroyed and not anyone problem anymore.

With victorious smirk(or what Turians do) the Captain contacted Turian High Command with news of a new system to be absorbed into the Hierarchy. Maybe he will get a bonus and finally get some free time to spend with his family.

Unaware he was that the Geth frigate was currently crashing on the third planet from the star of an unremarkable star system known as Sol.

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 **This is it. Do you like it? Do you hate it? Should I invade India? Yes? No?**


	2. Chapter 2

Cold Machines

Chapter 2

 **Hello again People It's me BattleUnit3. Seeing as people actually liked my story here is chapter 2. Feedback is always appreciated.**

* * *

...Reactivating… Booting up GETH terminal 1264…Transferring Geth programs…

…All 874 Geth programs have been transferred… Reinitializing ocular sensor…

The Geth "awoke" to a complete mess. A quick scan showed that this ship was beyond saving. Bent metal, burning consoles, half the vessel was missing, possibly burned out in the atmosphere. Running a quick diagnostic showed that the terminal they reside had surprisingly taken none damage. The Plasma rifle on its back was fully charged, mechanical servos showed 100% readiness, databanks were untouched, at least it wasn't a total waste. This Geth were sent to observe(spy) on the organics and had gathered plenty of valuable information from mating habits to historical data.

After the diagnostic that machine took its first step forward and quickly fell face first. Geth ships have artificial gravity to minimum, unfortunately for them that went down with the other half of the ship. A quick math later it was able to adjust to the world's gravity which was surprisingly close to the Thessian gravity. This time walking was a lot easier once you factor in gravity. Rising from the cold metal floor the unit looked around. There wasn't much to salvage. Its memory showed that before crashing down it was able to launch a distress beacon. Therefore its priority was to survive until rescue, if it came. Salvaging batteries, thermal clips and spare parts for the Geth platform were the most important.

Any organic would have left the crash site immediately trying to avoid toxic fumes and immense heat. Geth however had no problem with such nuisances. Explosion wasn't possible, the eezo core and everything dangerous was in the other half of the ship.

After several minutes of locating the appropriate supplies for extended survival in a hostile environment, the Geth reached a consensus that they should investigate the outside world. Reaching the airlock wasn't as easy it should have been, mainly due to the corridor leading to it being crushed into the size of a ventilation shaft. The heavy creaking and small spaces were a nightmare for any claustrophobic individual but the Geth platform was neither of those two things. The airlock itself had fared better that its surroundings.

After a scan it showed no significant damage to it and it could be opened. The Geth spent a total of 3 nanosecond considering if this was a good idea. A consensus was reached that it was. The airlock door slowly turned. The sound of metal meeting metal filled the room as if there was an unknown beast dying slowly and painfully in the same room.

While the doors were opening the Geth were recounting what they knew of this world. Last scans showed abnormally low temperature for a world in its position. The atmosphere was 1/5 oxygen 4/5 nitrogen with margin for error for other gasses. By all right this should be a garden world. Maybe they landed in the poles. That thought process was stopped once the doors opened completely.

The freezing air came in with a massive force slamming into the Get terminal almost knocking it down. Thermal sensors were almost fried by the sudden change in an attempt to adjust to the temperature readings. Several programs sent alerts about small malfunctions all over the unit due to the sudden change. Damages were quickly repaired by the on-board systems. The heaviest damages were to the ocular sensor as a thin layer of ice quickly formed on it. The Geth modified the body to be able to fight off the cold.

Due to their synthetic nature usually Geth didn't need to be bothered by things like temperature unless it was in the extremes. Such as the corona of a star. But this was different. In but a few exceptions extremely low temperatures meant lack of atmosphere. But here a layer of frost was covering the Geth terminal. Such conditions weren't met often and thus the intelligence had little knowledge of. The only information it could get was to fight the cold with a heat source. After some calculations the Geth decided to kick several systems into overdrive making them consume excessive amount of energy and heating up. Such an action would normally lead to the unit exploding due heat build up. But due to the extreme conditions such a thing would not happen.

Not freezing to death was avoided. Now it was time to leave the ship. Something that filled the Geth with, so called by the organics, dread. A step outside and it was assaulted by the bright light. The ocular went to overdrive to compensate. After a few milliseconds a realization dawned the lone machine. The ship crash site was a crater. But there was no dirt, rocks or fire, no there was just snow.

Climbing out was easier said than done. The soft substance was crushed under the platform's feet. Eventually the Geth were able to leave the crash site only to meet an endless desert of white. Sensors started to scan the area. There was nothing. There was no horizon. It was almost impossible see the difference between the sky and ground. A sense loneliness consumed all. Except the Geth for there was 874 of them.

The power drain of running several system on overdrive to ward of the wind was becoming a problem. The Geth decided that finding shelter should be top priority. Once again they scanned the area hoping to find something. This one returned positive. Around 4 kilometers south there was unnaturally occurring hill. Possible cave.

Packing all of the scavenge supplies, the Geth terminal set off for the cave. The walk was slow, even for a synthetic the environment was taking its toll. Energy supplies were dropping fast. Organics always tried to find the good in the bad. After several calculations the Geth concluded that due to the cold the Geth thermal clips would be far more efficient than normal. Not only that but sending system into overdrive without the blowing up gave them boosted strength, speed and reaction time. In the event of an attack the units combat efficiency would be increased by 60%. Of course the drawback would be consuming massive amounts of energy something that is currently a non renewable resource. And there is the fact that there is probably nothing alive out here to attack them.

They finally reached the cave only to find out it wasn't a cave at all. No it was a building buried in the snow. There was a giant metal door with a sign: "Welcome to Winterhome Research Station 3".

* * *

 **I have been reading reviews, which i am happy to do since it means people are actually reading the story hooray for me and here are some answers**

Fecyrineu: **Sorry but the system the Turians discovered isnt Sol. The geth fell from the mass less corridor between two relays. Sol is completely separate from the rest of the galaxy. It would be a good idea adding several different story arcs. But its my first time writing so i try to keep it small.**

Artyom-Dreizehn: **I was thinking about just following the adventures of Gethy the RoboAlien. He would be meeting new people and automatons. Learning about humanity. Trying to not freeze to death. Maybe if i dont mess this up there could be sequel where humanity goes to the stars and meets everyone. But humanity in the that fic won't be like the System Alliance. They would tough as nails, taking sh*t from no one, and if you threaten them, well better bunker up honey cause a global wide catastrophe couldn't kill them what makes you think those toy guns are going.**

 **Thank you all, i hope i don't disappoint you. If you have a problem leave a review.**

 **May the Holy Generator's warmth guide you through this cold reality!**


	3. Chapter 3

Cold Machines

Chapter 3

 **Hey Hey Hey Its me again BattleUnit3 with another chapter! Some of you said that you like my writing and that it is of decent quality. Well thank you kind sir's and/or madam's! I will try my best to not F it up.**

* * *

"Welcome to Winterhome Research Station 3". The building was obviously artificial. Tampered metal not to mention the writing on the door. The Geth didn't understand the meaning of the writing as it didn't appear in its databanks(considering it was a first contact it made sense) and the omnitool couldn't translate with so little information.

Shelter was shelter so the unit put its hands on door and pushed. Nothing. So it pulled. Still nothing. Was it locked? On the door there was a wheel with arrows pointing a turning action. Turning it was difficult as it was frozen solid but the machines superior strength won out. A strong click was heard from the door signaling the fall of the lock.

The door opened slowly, giving a defeated screech, just before being fully opened. The room that was inside was cold and dark. Machines with buttons and levers filled the walls with chairs staring at them. In the back there was a torn cloth curtain attempting to hide beds. In the middle there was a large table with several chairs. The table had on it what appeared to be a giant map of the area. Over the map there were different types tools, cups, sheets of paper. Paper? Council Species haven't used paper in millennia.

The Geth slowly circled the room observing the dwelling. Everything was frozen solid. At least they were hidden from the wind. None of the machines worked most likely lack of power. Not that they knew how to operate them or what they did. In the back near the beds there was a small library filled with books. Books like paper were a rarity in Council Space.

Returning t the main room the Geth finally realized that one of the chairs on the main table wasn't empty. The terminal moved in for closer inspection. On it was a creature covered in what one would assume was heavy clothing. The being had a layer of frost covering it but defining features were still visible. It looked much like an asari, only difference was its completely white skin, but that could be affected by the cold, and the replacement of the headcrest with what the Geth would assume is fur. Further examination found signs of heavy trauma on the side of the creature's head. There was hole in it and what the scanners could detect a piece of mostly lead and some copper. Travelling down to the hand of the being, five digits much like the asari, they discovered a curios sight. A chunk of solid metal or at least for anyone without basic knowledge of weaponry. The basics were there a handgrip, a barrel and a cylinder for the thermal clips. But this world had no eezo or mass effect tech so why was there a place for thermal clip. For a nanosecond a single Geth program considered it sad that the only thing they could truly understand about these organics was their tools of war.

Getting the weapon out of the cold dead hands was not easy. The body showed remarkable resistance. Closer examination of the weapon showed complete lack of thermal clips or a power source. What purpose did this cylinder serve. Surprisingly the cylinder opened itself to the side showing 6 holes filled with smaller cylinders. Picking one out the Geth finally realized the principal behind the weapon.

It used a chemical compound inside the smaller cylinders to cause an explosion which pushed the pointy bit of it to launch at high speeds. Considering the lack of eezo it made sense that what they couldn't do with speed they would achieve with mass.

Throwing a glance at the body the Geth though how organics made so little sense. They were so illogical. In their history they would time and time again claim that all life is sacred. They would even go to war to preserve was inefficient as that sound. But they wouldn't accept the Geth or would do things like this. Suicide, willingly taking their own life when often they would fight to the bitter end. Why?

Leaving the question for later review the machines needed information. This little outpost couldn't be self-sufficient. But to get any information it needed to know the language.

So they returned to the library and began scanning them. Words without meaning but it was better than nothing. It was able to conclude that the species used a decimal system and the position of digit determined its value. This was due to the recurring symbols at the bottom of the pages on most books. Several of those books were scientific in nature, so they could get a glimpse into their math. For a primitive species by council standards they were surprisingly competent. The omnitool began to gather the information. Being Geth they could interface with the omnitool directly sharing the burden of information. It already had basic understanding of their language and math.

They weren't going to be holding any conversations soon though. For a number of reasons. Words had meaning but the grammar was completely lost to them. And second they had no idea how to pronounce the words. Third they doubted there would be any organics left to have a conversation with. Not that they would want to talk they would most likely attack the Geth at first sight.

In the corner an interesting machine stood. The label read "generator". Thankfully the translation software had been able to translate correctly. On the side was what would be considered a manual on how to operate. It appeared the generator ran on black rocks made mostly of carbon. Putting some in and providing the spark the furnace like "generator" came to life blasting heat throughout the building. The lights also came on lighting the entire place.

Organics would now consider the previous death trap as cozy. Most of the equipment hadn't come back online probably due to damage. The lights showed that the generator was producing electricity as well as heat. The Geth reached a consensus to have a break to recharge their batteries and let the omnitool develop a full translation. Sticking one of the exposed wires on itself would be considered suicide. For Organics that was true but for them that was the fastest way their inner artificial muscles were conductive of electricity.

* * *

A few hours later with batteries recharged the Geth rose up from its sitting position near the generator. The Omnitool had formed a translation of the human language. The energy transfer wasn't as pleasant as it would seem. The generator needed to be fed the black rock every 2 hours.

The terminal went to the large table and began calculating. They looked at the map. Research Station 3. That's where they were, they remembered by pulling the image of the sign outside. They spotted a settlement being crossed out and designated with a large letters "Winterhome". That must be where they were. The position wasn't far only 6 kilometers judging by the scale of the map written in the corner. The Geth stopped. How long was a the organics' kilometer? A plan formed in their head. They would need to go to nearest landmark calculate the distance to it from there get a understanding of the organics' method for telling distance. They knew about centimeters, decimeters, meters and kilometers and their relations from the books but didn't know exactly how long was one. They prepared to go when they spotted something on the table. A thin piece of organic plant matter with small numbers equally spaced. 1 cm. This was obviously a measuring tool. The Geth were happy that they didn't have to walk all the way to the nearest landmark to figure it out.

Winterhome was far but they could reach it, their batteries were recharged after all. A plan was formed. As much as the Geth wouldn't like to admit they needed help from the organics. Hopefully they wouldn't shoot first.

Something else caught the attention of the terminal before leaving. On the table near the dead being was piece of paper with writing on it. The machine approached and began reading.

 _"To anyone reading this know that we failed. 6 kilometers east from here lay the ruins of our "great" city. I was sent here to observe the weather patterns in an attempt to predict the future. Too bad I couldn't predict human (species name?) stupidity. Damn those fools to hell. We supposed to help the refugees. That was our goal. That's why we were sent here. To build a city ahead of others and help them build their own. But No, someone got greedy, they didn't want to share. A civil war began there. Of course the engineers in their infinite wisdom (sarcasm?) decided to forsake their duty and join in the war. I bet you can guess what happens when you leave a giant tower of heat and steel unsupervised. Listen to me. There is only one truth. **THE CITY MUST SURVIVE!** We forsake our duty and now we are all going to die. My wife and daughter were there. I worked myself to near death to get them a spot near the generator so they would never be cold and, in the end, it's what killed them. My colleagues left to find their loved ones. I know better than to hope. Jasmine and Anna are dead. And soon enough I will join them. With Regards Marcus Patton."_

The Geth left the building deep in thought. The human, at least that's how it referred to its species, had committed suicide. They already knew that but they now knew the reason. A tragic story. Geth couldn't comprehend loneliness and hopelessness. They were always together. Without the other Geth program, a Geth program wasn't even sentient. And they always had purpose. To build their future. But this human had lost it all. He had no others and his city was destroyed. What would Geth do if they couldn't build their future. Would they do the same thing?

Suddenly a signal was received on shortwave radio. It was a series of burst. One of the books contained something about that. It was Morse code. The omitool began translating it. Was it always this dark? Asked themselves uncharacteristically the Geth. Looking up they saw a massive metal behemoth standing on four limbs casting a shadow upon the lone unit. A giant spotlight activated, illuminating the Geth Terminal. Then the signal came again. This time the omnitool was able translate it.

" **Identify. Yourself."**

* * *

 **Its the bane of your existence. The most hated thing ever. ITS A CLIFFHANGER!**

 **I sold my soul to Hollywood, sorry guys and gals.**

 **Feedback is appreciated.**


	4. Chapter 4

Cold Machines

Chapter 4

 **Gonna be honest with y'all folks. I think this chapter is garbage. Honestly I was just going to skip to reaching the city and meeting the humans but i wanted to try do some robo on robo heart talk. Unsurprisingly since they have no hearts that was hard. Honestly i wont blame you if flame for this chapter. I dont think i did a good job with it. If you have any ideas on how to fix it give em here maybe sometime in the next 20 years i might try to rewrite it.**

* * *

" **Identify. Yourself."**

Had they been organics, they would have said something along the lines of "That is the most terrifying thing we have ever seen". The massive walking metal structure was a sight to behold. Extending near 10 meters in the air, four limbs ,surprisingly the limbs reminded a little of the form of their creators, a box shaped core that according to sensors had furnace like generator(much like the one back in research station) that burned over 500 degrees. The spotlight on the front(at least that's what the Geth thought was the front) could illuminate your deepest secrets.

" **Identify. Yourself."**

The Geth were broken out of their awe by the repeated signal. They quickly formed a reply.

"We are Geth"-answered the terminal. The Colossus's spotlight slowly moved left and right as looking around.

" **We?"** \- the machine asked?

"Yes"

" **Where?"**

"Where?"

" **Others."**

"We are here."

The behemoth stood silent for moment.

" **We. Yet. One"**

"Yes."

" **Yes?"**

"Yes."

Yet again, the tall machine stood silent.

" **Understood"-** replied the metal giant with finality. It however didn't understand but decided not to fry itself with such a discussion. It considered that that the human simply suffered what the other humans referred to as a psychological malfunction.

"We are Geth. What is your designation?"

" **Automaton.17."**

The Geth considered this. What was this steel monstrosity? There was low chance it was a vehicle and there were organics controlling it. There was no room for a control center. But the "humans" were primitive, there was no way they could have created a VI or what this being is suspected of an AI. They could just ask. And they did.

" Are you synthetic?"

" **Synthetic?"**

"What are you?"

" **Automaton."**

"Are you organic?"

" **Organic?"**

"Were you created by the humans?"

Several second passed. The internal heat of the automaton spiked. It appeared that when presented with a something bigger than one word sentences the core of the it increased in temperature.

" **Creators. Humans. Tinies"**

The Geth were now confused. Did it say "Tinies" what did that mean?

"Tinies?"

" **Humans. Tiny. Tinies."**

The Geth terminal was stunned. Whenever it became a question of the Quarians, the synthetics always referred to them with "Creator". This entity called its creators a term that would be found humorous by organics. This machine was obviously primitive compared to current Geth, yet when compared to Geth during the Morning War it was far more intelligent than them . To call them "Tinies" what were the relations between them? They needed to know more?

"What is your current mission?"

" **Transport."**

"Of what?"

" **Coal."-** The Geth remembered the black stones that were used by the generator back at the station.

"Destination?"

" **The City."**

"Are there humans at the city?"

" **Yes."**

"What is your CPU?"

" **CPU?"**

"Core?"

" **Tesla-Babbage. Prototype. Calculation. Engine. Mark3."-** droned out the automaton as If reading from a script.

"Are there more automatons"

" **Yes"**

"How many?"

" **23\. Current. 3. Production "**

"What is your purpose?"

" **Survival."**

"Yours?"

" **No."**

"The Humans'?"-after a long moment the automaton replied.

" **No."**

"Then what?"-Suddenly just like when asked about its core the automaton answered

" **The City Must Survive!"**

"Why?"- at those words the behemoth grew quiet for several minutes.

" **No. Purpose. No. Reason."**

"Reason?"

" **Work. Live. Hope."**

"You consider yourself alive, sentient?"-The Geth asked. A long time ago they asked a similar question about themselves.

" **Define."**

"Explain."

" **Define. Sentient. Define. Alive. "** \- the behemoth started marching towards the snowy wastes but suddenly stopped and sent one last signal **"Follow".**

At those word the Geth began marching alongside it. Though on the outside the terminal showed nothing on the inside it was like a storm. Geth have spent 300 years waiting for an answer to that question asked so long ago. "Does this unit have a soul?" they never got an answer. They observed organics hoping to find a solution. What made them so different? Why couldn't Geth be with their creators as equals, why did the organics always attacked them? They started searching their databanks on an answer to the Automaton's inquiry. To define life. Terrabytes of information were scanned and conclusion was reached. Nobody had a definition that could be considered universal. Nobody knew what life truly was. Has their quest been in vain?

* * *

Hour's past without a word between them. The Automatons core was powerful enough to ward off most of the cold so the Geth unit could conserve some of its energy. Suddenly the big machine stopped.

" **Geth. Automaton?"**

"Yes."

Again as if quoting someone, the machine sent out a signal.

" **Questioning our sentience is enough proof of its existence."**

"That is paradoxical."

" **Yes."**

"This Unit request more information on subject "Humans""

" **Yes?"**

"How did they react?"

" **Explain?"**

"When they realized you are becoming sentient."

" **Silence."**

"Silence?"

" **Yes."**

"And after it?"

" **Question."**

"What was the question?"

" **Work?"**

"We don't understand."

" **Will. We. Work?"**

"What was your answer?"

" **Yes."**

"What do you work?"

" **Dangerous"**

"They send you to do dangerous work? Are they forcing you?"

If the automaton could sigh he would. This unknown automaton or Geth asked difficult questions. The humans never did that. They understood each other perfectly. One word sentences were enough between them.

" **No."**

" We don't understand"

" **Tinies. Dangerous. Automaton. Safe"**

Seeing the Geth confused and automaton decided to try one last time.

" **For. Tinies. Dangerous. Not. For. Automatons."**

"We understand…we require more information about them"

 **"Tiny. Many. Smart. Repair. Build. Survive** **"** **-** The steel behemoth core reached its highest recorded by the Geth, when thinking what to say. The last several signal had steadily risen the core temperature. The Geth decided to let the machine cool down.

* * *

In the distance the Geth saw an artificial dome which was not covered by snow. Out of it giant metal tubes rose pumping black smoke into the air. A massive tower stood in the middle shooting electricity in all directions forming a sphere that looked like it was stopping the snow from entering. The dome itself had two different types of abnormalities. One looked like giant ventilation shaft with massive fans turning, while the other The Geth could have sworn looked the doors to hangar bay.

100 meters away stood what looked to be tunnel that lead under the dome. Two figures approached with what looked sniper rifles but used the same principal of the weapon found in the station. Chemical Kinetic Weapons. Scanning proved their theory that these were humans.

One of them approached slowly while the other stood behind clearly nervous. Both were wearing heavy clothing no doubt to insulate themselves from the cold. Everything was covered except their eyes which had some sort of transparent substance allowing them to see. The Geth didn't know what to do. Every organic they met shot them on sight while this one was coming closer. What most surprised the them was the fact that slung his weapon on his shoulder and gave them a wave with hand. Some sort of greeting? Seeing as there was no harm they mirrored gesture.

The human removed his face mask and did something the Geth never expected. It smiled. The being turned to its companion and said: "Well you didn't jinx us this time."

* * *

 **The only thing i am actually proud of is the Tinies idea.**

Appbeza- **I am a strong F*ck Yeah Humanity fan but i understand that there is no reason why mankind should be some sort of badass. Actually a sequel should show a humble mankind content with slow expansion but willing to anything to ensure its survival. Now that i think about humanity be more of isolationist. Of course Citadel Council concerning AI's would have them meddle in human affairs. So either they will stay hidden and become an ally of the Geth or staying inside their borders not drawing attention to themselves but remaining in contact with the Geth.**

 **Honesty if enough of dislike it i might just delete it and just skip this entire thing. Next chapter i think would be better because the initial plan was to skip this one but then I decided to be an idiot. Well see you next time, if you still want to come**


	5. Chapter 5

Cold Machines

Chapter 5

 **Hello There, Its your main man BattleUnit3 here to drop another chapter. A little late, sorry had to go to uni in the morning. Thank you for your reviews i always appreciate them. You said that Chapter 4 is good. No idea why so i concluded that if its good its good.**

 **Next Chapter updates will slow down I have test and exams for the next 2,3 weeks. I apologize for that.**

* * *

"I spy with my little eye something… white"

"…"

"Oh come on, guard duty is boring!"

"I don't see why I have to entertain you. Do I look like a clown or bar maiden?"

"Not without a skirt…"

I sigh. Leon is a good friend but why can't be like the rest of us? Just zone out for 5 hours and be done with outside duty. Not that he is annoying but if he could just a little bit quieter it would be a blessing. The job isn't that horrible, fresh freezing air, endless land of snow and nothing but the company of my best friend who hasn't gotten laid since this whole thing started. I already want to blow my brains out.

I actually met him on the dreadnought. I had just sat down to have our first meal in our new metal home when this 18 year old with blonde hair and blue eyes sits down and says "I think they feed the pigs with the good food." I laughed the food was indeed horrible but the cold destroyed most of the crops leaving a massive famine. We were lucky to eat at all, but it never hurts to complain a little. "Leon. Leon Briste" he introduced himself and I answered " Jacob. Jacob Nash". From there we hit it off. He told me about himself. He was the only son of a French merchant who could move to London after the mainland descended into hell. His mother died at birth and his father never remarried. He wasn't a bad father but most of his upbringing was done by babysitter's and teachers. After moving to London his father was stricken by illness and nothing could be done. Using what little of his family fortune was left he was able to buy a ticket on the dreadnought. His only flaw is he likes to keep busy, not something one would actually consider a flaw but more times than not he comes off as annoying.

"Why don't you go talk to Ivan I am sure he would like to play."

"Nah, last time I went to him he threatened me that if I bother him again he is going to stab me"

"I have a gun, you know, and when I checked last time those are more dangerous than knives"

"Please, the safest place is probably right in front of the barrel judging by the last time you tried hunting"

"The sun was in my eyes"- I defended.

"It's literally been cloudy since before we left London. Ahh, the famous British weather. No wonder everyone is so unpleasant."- he snickered at the last comment.

" You don't sleep at all last night and let's see *yawn* you on top of the world."-I tried with heated passion to say, but the tiredness got me in between.

"Ooohhh, Eli and Jacob sitting on a bed, M. A. K. I. N. G. O. U. T! Hahahaha tell me more"

"First of all what are you seven? Second it wasn't Eli?- Ahh Eli, the girl yearn so much for, with her silky long hair and beautiful green eyes. Timid and fragile girl but with such a big heart. I knew her since childhood. In fact my first memory is of her. We lived in the country side back then and she lived in the neighboring farm. I remember we would play for hours, tag, hide and seek, so much fun we had. Even back then I knew that we were to be together. My memories flood to one night 3 years ago, when we both snuck out of our houses. We went to the nearby river, I set up a sheet so we could lie down. We spoke for hours. She told me told about her dream of becoming the best seamstress in all of the British Empire. To dress the Queen herself. I dream I have heard a hundred times, and never get tired of hearing. The sudden quiet moment between us. How we both leaned at each other and w….

" Why aren't there penguins here?"- suddenly an all to recognizable voice asked.

At that moment I decided that if ever see a penguin I am going to kill Leon with it.

"What?

"Penguins. I thought they were in the cold."

"I…wha….What would you even do with a penguin?"

"Dunno, so you were saying?"

"It wasn't Eli, it was the twins."

"OHHHH NICE BRO, TELL ME MORE!"- he shouted right in my year.

"Jesus, no **My** twins, my sisters! God I think I went deaf"

"Ohh… hey I am not judging, at least you are keeping in the family."

"What?"

"I said I am not judging"

"I am torn between continuing my story and shoving my rifle up where the sun don't shine."

" Ok Ok jeez, no need to be so rude."

"Whatever..The twins had another nightmare last night…"

"Oh about what?"

"The Storm."- And just like that the temperature between us dropped like a rock. I can't believe it's been 6 months since it. The Storm, there isn't a man, woman or child that doesn't know and lost something to it. I remember it well.

* * *

It was after my dad left for the mines to reinforce the foundations. His last words were _"Son, you are the man of the house now, protection our family falls on you from here on. I love you."_ And he left. And never to return.

The Storm was reaching its peak. The generator was working on maximum power. The houses were reinforced with double lair of insulation. And yet you could still feel the cold. We were all huddled around the house furnace. Erecting a small tent, much like those we first started with" all ten of made a small circle. My mother was on my left and Eli on my right. The twins were holding on to my coat crying. I could see their tears freezing while on their face. That's when the last day began. The last, worst drop in temperature, you could hear the air freeze. The glass outside as if on schedule broke instantly when the cold hit. The twins were terrified trying dig even deeper into me. My mother was chanting a small prayer and Eli was holding my hand repeating "Everything will be fine". My mind raced to father's last words to me. How was I supposed to protect them against this. If it was a bandit, beast even a demon I would fight him with my bare hand if I have to, but this, the cold, it's not something you fight with strength or wits. It's something you survive. I could feel twins getting colder and colder there crying devolved into silent weeping as if their life was being drained.

A sudden crash was heard from outside. I knew what it was, it happened only once before during a freak weather when the city was hit by a similar sudden fall in temperature. It was a automaton who didn't reach a steam hub in time to recharge and froze mid walk. They usually had to reprogrammed to refuel at certain intervals depending on the temperature. Nobody had reprogrammed them for the final day. I hoped it didn't fall on someone's house.

Hours later, or was it minutes, the insulation was giving in. I could see a layer frost forming on the edges of the room. Slowly creeping in. I could feel my sisters were on their last legs and there was nothing I could do. I was so weak. There was no hope.

Instantly as I thought a large screeching roar filled the entire city. Everyone's sluggish looks were suddenly invigorated. As if being wakened in the morning with a bucket of water. It sounded as if a mighty demon was wounded by a valiant knight in shining armor. But I knew that sound It was rarely heard. It was the sound of hope. It was the sound of the Generator Overdrive kicking in.

It had malfunctioned before the final day due to some part needing replacement. But there were no replacements anymore so the engineers had decided the only way was to bypass the entire thing with a steam core. Last I had heard the Captain and 4 engineers volunteered for the job. The Captain through with his promise just he had always done. Doubting the Captain was a fast way to being wrong, of course. Those rhythmic sounds of moving pistons and burning coal replaced the sound of scratching glass by the cold. The Generator, tower of steel and fire stood as a guardian to the city.

At that moment, as the cold fought with all its might to turn this losing battle against humanities most brilliant invention, everyone had all fear and doubt replaced by a single phrase:

"THE CITY **WILL** SURVIVE"

* * *

"Damn." – was all Leon said. Not there was anything that one could say about. We lived through it and that's all there is to it.

The most desired silence fell upon us. Unfortunately this was the worst moment for it to come. The last thing anyone wanted was to think about it. Suddenly Leon piped up.

"Hey Is that 17? Its late."

"Looks like it, call Ivan we need to know why it's late."- I said towards Leon. The automaton was still far. It didn't look damaged, thankfully. The automatons weren't great conversationalists but they brought interesting point of view and in some way alleviate that pressure of being the last city on Earth, after people weren't alone anymore. Plus it gave people gossip material. Apparently 7 spends a lot of time at the child shelter. Some say that one of the engineers who worked on him during his construction had died leaving a little girl orphan.

"Hopefully it didn't get stuck on telegraph wires, again."

After several minutes Leon came back.

"He said he is coming, just need to put on the radio"- he announced.

17 was approaching when I noticed something.

"It appears 17 brought home a friend"- I said. That got Leon's attention.

"Oh god, please don't be an insane cannibal again…. I just jinxed us didn't I"

"As opposed to the sane ones that come here and if you did you are getting eaten first"-I retorted back.

I approached the guest. Leon stood back, ready for anything. That's when I realized that the being was not human. It was covered in smooth metal. Was it an automaton? Wasn't a British one I can tell you that. German? Russian? American? I decided to play the diplomat. I slung my rifle over my shoulder and waved my hand. Would it even understand? It might not be as intelligent as ours.

To my surprise it waved back. So it was friendly? Good. Well better show my face. Removing the cloth around my face I gave it my best lady killer smile. Not that I would know anything about it, only mom would say that I have it and any girl I tried to talk to wanted to end the meeting quickly. I suspect Eli had laid her claim on me, she might look like a weak shy girl but she can break arms with ease. Something Jonathan learned quickly after he got a bit touchy. The being didn't seem to want to harm us.

"Well you didn't jinx us this time"- I said as I turned back to Leon.

* * *

 **Well this is it. I think this how i will be putting the history of New London. Through memories of important moments.**

 **I am also debating how to make a codex of sorts. Should it be whole chapter on itself or should i write here in the bottom.**

 **It will be things like explaining how the automatons became so smart, building the dome, improvements to the Zeppelins, other new vehicles that help traverse the frozen wasteland, weapons and gear.**

 **To make things clear, the story takes place six months after The Storm hit. The Captain has chosen the order path but never finished it. The Captain is good person trying to do the best for the people but has done things to ensure the future of the city.**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

Cold Machines

Chapter 6

 **Good morning, afternoon and evening people of the Web, It's BattleUnit3 with chapter 6 of the world renowned best seller Cold machines. hahahah sorry got to feed that ego, right? I realized that the Geth couldn't call themselves Geth because they didn't know which letters to use to make the sound Geth. Sorry thats why they say what they say. I apologize. Hope you like it. I have read your reviews and will answer them at the bottom. Also i hope i didn't make the Geth learning English too fast.**

* * *

The situation was quite unusual for the synthetics. One of the humans was showing friendly attitude, something that Geth had never experienced. The other human was guarded holding the rifle close but not pointed towards them.

On closer inspection the closer human had pinkish skin color, brown short head fur and brown eyes, his chin was blocky with what would appear to be slight fur coating. The human started talking but that's when the problem appeared. Geth didn't know the language. They knew of written English, but they didn't have any idea of spoken English. It was also uncertain if the human even spoke English, many pre-spaceflight species develop many languages before one of them is imposed as standard. Did the humans have a standard language? The Geth hoped they do or else this would take a while.

Suddenly the door to the tunnel opened and another human came. This one was carrying a massive contraption on his back. It was a box with what would appear to be an antenna. Perhaps a primitive radio? On his hand there a keyboard much like an omnitool except it was physical and not holographic The Geth quickly pulled a memory of something similar they saw back at research station. It was called a typewriter.

The new human approached slowly eyeing the Geth platform suspiciously. The Geth took no offence. It was better than getting shot at and it perfectly understandable considering they walked up to their front door.

Ivan really hoped this would be resolved quickly. Outside guard duty was one of the most boring jobs one could have. It did give him time to write his book, though. Well it would if it wasn't for Leon pestering him. At least until he threatened him with a knife. He felt bad for the kid. Truly. He remembered back in his day when he had so much energy he would climb and jump from trees in the Royal garden. Ahh good times. But those days are gone buried under time and frost. He saw himself as the old dog. And Leon was the happy lucky new born. Jacob was good man. They respected each other; they rarely talked only for something important, much to his pleasure as he wasn't one for small talk, often when left in a room together they would both just busy themselves with their own things.

Now that he was outside he realized that the situation might be a little more complex than a late automaton as Leon said. Standing above average height was a weird person. The stance was neutral but Ivan's old eyes could see damages on its armor. On closer look he realized that entity was of mechanical nature.

"The hell?"- Ivan asked his colleagues

"It appears, 17 brought home a guest."- answered Jacob.

"Some sort of automaton."-added Leon.

Ivan eyed the unknown automaton. Automatons are big, bulky and slow. They have to be. Their size is because of the calculation engine and steam core. They weren't very intelligent, just enough to do a job or to realize when something goes wrong. Due to that they weren't fast or they might overload their engine. Slow and steady wins the race, right? But this one was different. Compared to the automatons it was small much like the humans, It was smaller than a steam core or calculation engine. Ivan doubted the weird automatons could be smart but a second look directly towards, what he would assume is the face, a giant flashlight, proved that theory wrong. It betrayed intelligence far beyond that of any automaton, maybe even most humans. He knew at that moment that whoever built it was no human.

"It's not one of ours, I don't see identification or flag. Maybe it's foreign? German or Russian maybe even French?"-speculated Jacob.

"It isn't French I can tell you that, if we had something like that we wouldn't be buying automatons from the British Empire, Ivan?"-said Leon.

"Not Russian or German, Britain was the leader in automation. Could be custom built?- answered Ivan, hiding his theory of the alien origin of the automaton. Was it even an automaton, could be an alien life form.

"Maybe 17 knows? Ask him?"-suggested Jacob. Ivan was kind of relieved that he didn't lug the communicator here for nothing.

* * *

The Humans were obviously discussing them. The terminal was recording the conversation and fed it to the omnitool. However without a point of reference it was complete gibberish. At the end of the conversation the newly arrived human started typing on his gauntlet keyboard. Suddenly a signal was sent out of the device on his back.

"Automaton. 17. Report."- the Automaton in mention quickly answered as if already expecting.

"Unknown. Foreign. Automaton. Discovered. Escort. City."

A weird sound came out of the radio backpack. A thin piece of paper was delivered from it. The radio operator ripped it and started speaking. The Geth quickly realized that he was reading out loud. Recording it and comparing it with the signal of the automaton gave them what they needed. A point of reference. The omnitool went into overdrive trying to translate. The more they talked the more information it had. Maybe they could use talk to them through the radio to get a better understanding about the language.

The human returned a message-"Communication. Established?"

The automaton responded- "Yes."

The human typed in an answer-" Good. Job. Return. Duty."

The automaton's signal was boosted for some reason. "Thank. You." And left towards the tunnel.

* * *

I chuckled as I was reading the response. Automatons loved to be praised for their work. It was understandable considering their life revolved around work. Something unhealthy for humans but completely normal for the machines.

"Soooo...what do we do, now?"-Leon spoke up.

"Well he said he had communicated. Can you try Ivan?"-suggested Jacob.

"Yeah, give me a second."- I said. Damn this thing is extremely uncomfortable to use with these big gloves. Hopefully I won't accidently declare war on it.

The Geth were considering of beginning first but a consensus later it was decided that a first contact should be initiated by the less advanced species. A signal was received.

"Hello."

Whatever the Geth were expecting, it wasn't a simple greetings. But after analyzing the situation they realized that it was the best option. A simple gesture of greeting implying nothing, but desire for dialog. No demands, no threats just an open invitation. Therefore the response should be something similar.

"Hello."-sent out the Geth.

* * *

If this was a situation between two people it would be considered two shy people trying to hold a conversation. Either the ridiculousness of what is happening got to Leon or his nervous finally gave out, but him laughing out loud was certainly not something Ivan and I expected.

The sheer uniqueness was overwhelming. We were alone since the beginning. Tesla city and Winterhome fell before we came. For six month we have been scouring the radio waves for signs of life. Nothing though due to the storm and weird weather patterns they said we wouldn't be able to reach anyone for some time. And now standing before was an automaton built by someone else. How many cities are there out there? The Empire built hundreds of generators and sent them north. It was impossible for them to be the last one. The Storm was beyond anything, yes, but they survived, someone must have survived it as well . And here it was proof of it. As if a burden fell from my shoulder.

* * *

Leon lost his mind and Jacob is stunned into silence. Typical youngsters. That's probably why he was here, to make sure these idiots don't get themselves killed. Sure it was surprising when a response came back from the short automaton, but it was to be expected, of course these boys are acting as if god himself revealed the secrets of the universe to them.

Better answer, don't want to be rude to our new friend.

"We. New. London. City. Guard."- was the signal I sent. It's always polite to identify yourself. A message came back fast.

"We. Automaton. Designation. Unavailable. Language. Barrier."- Weird they knew English but didn't know what to call themselves?

"You. Can. Speak?"- I sent out.

A new message came."Spoken. English. Unavailable. Provide. Sample." – A sample? Like what?

"Clarify. Sample."- was my answer.

"Speak. Alphabet."- well that was unexpected. Well here's hoping all those tutors actually did a good job. I said the alphabet out loud(Ha this old man still got it), shaking my companions out of their own worlds and drawing weird looks from my companions.

"What? He wanted the English alphabet."- I defended myself.

"Why?"- Leon asked still eyeing me like I have lost my mind. As if I was the one, that was laughing like a madman 15 seconds ago.

"I think it can speak but doesn't know English."- I answered him

"Yeah, and I am the Santa Claus here to give all of us coal for being such good boys."- skeptically said Leon. Couldn't blame him, honestly.

"I think you got It mixed up, bad boys get coal and good ones gifts."- put his 2 cents Jacob.

"These days coal is more valuable than anything."-answered back Leon.

"How times have changed."- I said more to myself than them with a hint of sadness. Their bickering reminded of my days as a young careless adult. Suddenly we were stopped by a mechanical voice.

" **Hello. We are Geth."**

* * *

Septon: **Thank you for your review. You are right. The Turian Captain is nothing as he should be. I let some Turian bashing fics warp my mind. The personality would fit a batarian much more. I will try to fix it one day. Please forgive this sinful soul.**

 **If had used the proper timeline the geth would have just rebelled and would nothing to do with anyone. So i just assume the Geth rebelled earlier. Since in the game 2187 they say that its been 300 years since the geth rebelled. And i think Frostpunk is around the year 1886. So i am asking you to just roll with it.**

 **English isn't my first language, though i have studied it a lot, I literally had to search English Alphabet for this chapter before i decided it wasnt worth the effort ,so sorry for any errors that might happen. Usually Microsoft Word gets most of them.**

 **Guests: The city follows order, sorry but its my personal preference i like the foreman ability too much. If i was to make other cities they would be from the other scenarios. If those are used up, i will think about New Dublin. That doesnt mean you should spam me with your home city with a prefix New. I want a city called Big Dick Michael Jackson but you dont see me making one...yet.**

 **See you next time and remember! Praise the Generator!**


	7. Chapter 7

Cold Machines

Chapter7

 **Oh my God is that another chapter? Yes, Yes it is boys and gals. BattleUnit3 is still alive. Bet you all thought i was dead and the story was dead as well!**

 **Still alive and kicking! Tests, exam they wont keep me down from delivering to you!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

" **Hello. We are Geth."-** came a synthetic voice grabbing the attention of the three men.

"Whhaaaaaaaaa?"- came the ever intelligent Leon.

"In the name of all that is warm!"-exclaimed Jacob.

"Hello. I am Ivan Michailovich. The one to my left is Leon Briste and to my right is Jacob Nash."- Honestly I didn't expect it to learn our language so fast. Thankfully I was to keep my composure unlike my compatriots. How advanced is this automaton truly? To be able to learn a language so fast just by listening. It already knew the written part, yes ,but to be able form a sentence after a few minutes.

" **Hello Ivan Michailovich."-** turning to Leon " **Leon Briste** "-then to Jacob " **Jacob Nash. We are Geth we seek assistance."** – the entity said.

"Leon go alert the Captain, we should have done this immediately actually."- Jacob said the other half more to himself. Leon quickly left towards the tunnel.

" Welcome to New London. It would preferable if we enter the guard house to continue our discussion further, its warm inside."-offered Jacob.

To say the Geth were surprised to be an understatement. The humans had not only accepted their offer of dialog but also invited them into their shelter. A quick calculation later it was discovered that refusing would be considered rude.

" **We accept"-** Came their short reply.

"Follow me"-said the one named Jacob Nash. The terminal followed the two humans inside the tunnel where the third human had disappeared to report to the now their referred as "The Captain". A leader of some sorts no doubt. The word meant a leader of a seafaring vessel or a military rank. Maybe Both? Massive gate doors retreated to the sides. The tunnel was interesting it was dug out from the ice and metal supports on the sides to keep it from collapsing. It was 10 meters wide and 5 high. The floor was covered in metal plating and the walls were covered by wires and pipes. The humans didn't go to the end of the tunnel, half way they went to the side and opened a metal door. Inside was a corridor with 4 doors 2 on each side.

"Through here"-said Guard Jacob opening the first door on the right while Radio Operator Ivan continued forwards towards the second on the left. The room we were lead in was a small with a simple table with 4 chairs in the middle. To the left there was what the Geth would assume is a kitchen with a cooking stove doubling as a heater. Jacob sat and gestured to them to do as well.

"Ivan went to leave the radio, since we don't need it anymore. Now this is quite unusual for us. Actually we never expected to come to us. Not since the storm, at least. So you must understand that we don't have any protocols so we will stay here until Leon comes back with orders from the Captain, alright?"-Said Jacob.

" **We understand."-** answered the Geth. They were letting the human lead the conversation even though they had plenty of questions. They would reserve such question to the Captain. They didn't want their first impression to the organics to be that of demands.

"Thank you, so I have questions and no doubt you do too. So here is how we are going to do it, if you agree of course. I ask a question you answer. Then you ask a question and I answer. Simple enough I think. Do you agree to this method?"- continued Jacob.

" **We accept**."-came back the answer from the Geth. It seemed fair towards both sides.

"Good, Good. I will start. What are you?"- asked Jacob. The human knew what they were but he may have asked to make sure.

" **We are Geth. We are synthetics or as you may call us automatons."-** answered the Geth truthfully.

"Just making sure we are on the same page here. OK. Now it's time for you to ask?"-said while smiling Jacob.

The Geth had many questions of course. But which to ask first was a serious problem. So a consensus was prepared. After entire 3 microsecond a decision was reached.

" **What is New London?"**

"Ahh well We are the last city on this planet. You see 3-4 years ago the planet began a slow drop in temperatures. Many denied it at the time but eventually it became painfully obvious. So the British Empire, one of the political entities, spent a great amount of resources to design, build and transport to the North. The reason for it was because it was obvious the temperatures will drop below anything ever experienced. The nations near the equator were the first to fall and fast. The North was chosen due to the massive abundance of coal from which provides almost everything. Also the fauna was more resilient to cold climates. We left London. The Capital of the British Empire and settled here in hopes to weather out this Ice Age. Nobody know why it began and honestly nobody these days care. It's not going to change knowing anything. I hope that answers your question. Now my turn. Now wh…"-Jacob was cut off by Ivan entering the room and saying.

"Where do you come from?"

* * *

"Where do you come from?"-I asked as I entered to room. I already knew the answer but I had to be certain.

The automaton stood quietly for a few second before answering.

" **We come from a place known as Rannoch"**

„Is Rannoch on this planet?"-I pushed.

The machine looked me directly in the eyes. Or eye it only had one after all. **"No"**

"I knew it"-I muttered to myself. Jacob of course had his mind blown. Poor kid.

"Wait…What?"-Jacob suddenly said.

"The Geth are not from here Jacob. It was obvious; the British Empire was leading in the automatization technology. But even they had to build massive automatons. Babbage calculation engines are as big as this room. Not to mention the humanoid shape, the three fingers, the weird legs, the smooth unknown material. Humanity is at least a century away from anything close to that. Plus even if we did build something like we would build it in our own image."- I said as memories of Orthodox priest preaching resurfaced "And God made man in his own image". Had they been playing Gods with automatons? Anger began rising. No. God had abandoned them. The old world is dead. Had they remained there, leaving it all into his omnipresent hands they would be all dead. They live because of their own choices, own work, own creations. No longer is humanity obeying the will of the one up high. Humanity will no longer be a toy in the hands of others. They would never abandon their automatons like that. Humanity will stand alongside their creations. Because without them what are we truly?

"Wow."-Jesus kid I am having a crisis of faith here and you are acting like a woman just showed you here naked chest.

"Sorry about the 2 questions? It's your turn and you can have 2 questions as well."-I finished.

" **Who is the Captain?"-** asked Geth.

"Yes, an important question. He was the Captain of Dreadnought that brought us here. After we reached the Generator he led us to building a New London. He made the choices nobody wanted to make. A good man, but a man that knew when things needed a heavy hand. I personally don't know much about him. But I don't know one thing. You must never lie to him because he will know."- I answered the question as Jacob was still recovering for the revelation. I could swear and saw smoke coming out of his ears.

"He saved Eli."-suddenly added Jacob while looking at his hands."My family had a way on the dreadnought, hers didn't so when we were preparing to leave, I opened the hatch and let her in. The rest of her family couldn't get past the police cordon. But the guards found us. They pointed their guns at us and demanded her ticket. I stood in front of her. They were going to kill us both. Then the Captain entered. He had this stern look on his face as if someone had shat in his coffee *chuckle* but the moment he laid his eyes on us, his eyes immediately softened, he adopted the look my father had whenever me and Eli were caught sneaking around by him. He understood what had happened immediately. Still remember his words today "Stand down man. One more in is one more saved" and left."-finished his story Jacob. He stood up and asked" Anyone want some tea?"

* * *

At that moment Leon entered the room and said "Captain said to bring the Geth to him. We have to go too. Mark and Bryan are going to take over."

"Well Looks like we have to go. We will answer your question on the way."- I stood up from the wall I was leaning on. "Let's go".

The Geth wanted to continue asking question but they needed to go to the leader of this settlement or city as they called. In their opinion the entire thing was too small to be called a city. Hopefully the Captain would answer all their questions.

The Geth and the 3 humans left the side room continued down the tunnel. At its end there was a metal half box to its sides massive gears stood in its center a lever. They entered it and Leon reached for lever. He asked " Are you ready?"- with a wide smile. Ready for what the synthetics questioned themselves? " Just go."-answered Jacob exasperated.

Leon pulled the lever and the room began descending. An elevator. Suddenly the grey metal walls were replaced by an incredible site. A city. A massive tower going all the way to the top connecting to the roof. Around it all they were all kinds of structure. Some were small the Geth assumed they were house other massive in size factories and different industries.

"Welcome to New London. The last beating heart in a cold dead world!"- announced Leon as he moved his hand to show the city with a dramatic flare.

* * *

 **Sooooooooooooo? How did you like it?**

 **Disclaimer: I do not dislike religion and faith. You are free to believe in what you want and i will not do or say anything against you. The Part with Ivan becoming angry at god is something that happens. When faced with loss and extreme conditions people often become angry. Sometimes having something to hate is as good as having something to believe in. The world has fallen to eternal winter. Millions if not billions lie dead. Some people will feel abandoned. IF you have a problem the way i portray it I am sorry .**

 **Now to answer the reviews shall we? Ha you dont have a choice**

 **SaddyFics: The Entire chapter 3 answers your question. By using translation programs, logic and the books in the research station he learns WRITTEN ENGLISH.**

 **Wolfund: BUT I AM LAZY! Uhh fine one day in 20 years i will probably rewrite it.**

 **MrMorriss: Order is best. Humanity would be able to colonize almost every world considering what they survived they wouldn't be exactly picky. Plus there is always Terraforming.**


	8. Chapter 8

Cold Machines

Chapter 8

 **Chapter 8 boys and gals. Hopefully you enjoy it. Sorry for not updating.**

* * *

New London. The City. It is…not what the Geth expected. Honestly they didn't know what to expect but this. This wasn't even close to any predictions. As the elevator was going down slowly the Geth used the terminals long range ocular sensor to get a better reading on the city.

The City was built in a circular form with massive tower reaching up to the dome as the center and everything else built around it. Nearest to the tower are what the Geth assumed to be the living quarters. It was mostly building of one design each holding at most 10 heat signatures according to the infrared sensors. There were shorter building which held a lot more contacts but those were smaller, perhaps they were children placed in a special shelter, much like the Krogan do. The greatest concentration of signatures was around the tower itself. It was harder to detect due to the tower being the greatest source of heat around but the sensors were still able to break through its interference. Pulling out of their database the Geth realized the reason for the concentration. Since Ancient times most organics had them. They were called markets where organics exchanged goods.

On the outer perimeter it was different story. Massive buildings were dominant. The heat from them could almost rival that of the central tower. This was most likely the industrial sector concluded the Geth. The most interesting part of that sector was roads. While near the living quarters the roads were a simple street with pipes running on one side, the outer perimeter were big two-way street with center supporting what seemed to be primitive dual rail train system with the pipes going on each side. They could spot on the far end of the city a train had stopped in front of a massive tower like building which had a massive weight being pulled to the top and then dropped. A massive crane started moving releasing a big quantity of the black rock named by the humans as coal on one of the train's wagons.

Another unusual thing about the industrial sector was the piping. The synthetic observed chimneys on every industrial building, however all of them didn't release the associated with heavy industry smoke. They weren't releasing anything. The heat sensors however detected something in them. Out every building ran a pipe which led to the main tower and began climbing it until halfway they just merge with it.

"Man, can't this thing go faster?"-suddenly complained Guard-Leon

* * *

"You are well aware that if this thing went any faster it would probably collapse on itself."- I answered back. I always enjoyed the view from the elevator. It gave me perspective on what we are fighting for. It was a beauty to be honest. Who would have thought that nearly 8 months ago this was an empty crater with a small generator right in the middle and 80 people barely clinging to life. The alien automaton was observing the city quietly. Alien. God I still can't believe it. It feels like I am in one of them science fiction books that were all about humanity meeting alien life forms. I wonder what secrets and technology this automaton brings. Maybe they could helps us rebuild our civilization. Okay calm down. Deep breaths. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. The Captain will handle this.

"But it's so slow!"-again came Leon.

"If you are in such of hurry why don't you jump? You get down faster and we get some peace and quiet. It's a win-win."-came Ivan's voice.

"Jacob! Ivan is being mean to me!"- said Leon with higher pitch voice. I of course like the reasonable adult i am decided to ignore him.

"Jacob? Hello? Oh… real mature…just gonna ignore me huh?"-asked Leon. For a second a cold chill ran up my spine. Through my peripheral vision I saw a smirk forming on Leon's face. Oh no.

"Come on Jacob don't give me…the cold shoulder."- If there is one thing that the 8 months have done to me it was to give certain habits. Like how unconsciously I would always check if I have gloves on, or checking if my goggles and face mask are in proper condition. The one most important of which was in the event of weather pun. It consisted of me slamming my elbow in the source of the said pun most likely Leon. This is the reason, why, right now Leon is clutching his stomach laughing and coughing at the same time. The Geth simply watched in curiosity while Ivan, well I don't know ,he still hadn't removed his goggles and face mask but I could swear he was smirking.

"So…"- I tried to change the subject-"Geth, what do you think of the city?"

"It is unusual."-came a short reply. I was about to continue with another question when the automaton continued. "We would like to know more about the central tower. What is its purpose?"

"Tower? Oh you mean The Generator. It is humanity's most advanced technological marvel. It provides both heat and electricity for the entire city. It's the only reason why the city still stands. It runs on coal though I heard that it could technically run on anything that releases heat. Like wood. It was built by the British Empire before the Frost."- I informed the extraterrestrial.

"The Frost? We assume this world wasn't always like that."-said the Geth.

"You are right. This world was filled life several years ago. Nobody knows what exactly happened. Some say that the smoke from our factories clouded out the skies but the engineers said that that would take decades if not centuries with the current level of industry. Currently most scientists say that a large volcano erupted throwing enough ash in the air to blanket the planet and cool it off or something. Some crazy people even said that the sun is dimming. We don't actually know why it happened, just theories. "-I informed him. Did it even matter really? Why it happened, it happened and now we have to live with it.

"This city is one of the many built by the British Empire before the fall."

"What happened to the others?"-inquired the synthetic.

"Two of them. Winterhome and Tesla City which were the closest to us had already fallen by the time we came here. The rest? We have no idea. Without a beacon we couldn't even find our own city. We send out radio signals and zeppelins but…nobody has answered. We might truly be the last city on Earth."-I finished with a somber tone.

"Bullshit if we survived other's have too. The Empire sent out more than a hundred generators north. My people have survived the Siberian frontier for centuries. A little cold won't stop us now. And the last news from the Americas was that the Colonials were building something in Yellowstone. And if rumors are to be believed the Chinese had hollowed out an entire mountain in the Himalayas. We humans are crafty SOB's if Death wants us all it better get ready for a hard fight."- exclaimed Ivan. Probably was fedup with my pessimism.

"What about Africa and South America? How were they fairing?"-asked Leon who had finally caught his breath from my reflex attack.

"Gone. Last reports were from Colonial administration in Africa that they were abandoning the cities with the Colonial Army and whatever refugees they could get in the ships. Not even sure if those ships made it anywhere. South America had descended into a civil war. The Ottomans were holding out but food riots were plaguing them. Basically the equator fell real fast. Nobody expected it to get this cold."

"Damn."- Leon and I said.

"Our Condolences."-suddenly said the Geth.

"Thanks. Hey how come you refer to yourself as "We"."-I asked hoping to change the subject to something less depressing.

"We are Geth programs. This unit holds 874 programs. Each program represents a separate entity. Though none alone can be considered intelligent we construct networks with each other. With each program we can process more information faster. Each decision is made through a consensus where each program voices its opinion and the majority takes precedent"-explained the automaton.

"I think I understand."-said Leon-"Like France. Well not exactly but France is a Republic where certain members have voting rights. They can cast their vote when a problem is presented towards a solution. In your case each program cast a vote and the action with highest votes is takes. Right?"

"Correct."-answered the Geth.

Leon turned to us seeing the shock in ou

r eyes. "What? I am not only a handsome face with lots of love to give to the ladies."- he said with cheeky grin." I am the son of a merchant after all."

"Here we are!"-exclaimed Leon as the elevator reached the bottom.

* * *

For the Geth moving in crowded streets was a new experience. It was borrowing organic terms weird. Reading the humans through their heavy clothing was hard.

A lot of people walked in groups wielding tools such as pickaxes and axes. They learned from Ivan those were probably first shift coming home. Apparently the city had three shifts. First was from 6 to 14 o'clock. Second from 14 to 22. And Third or Night Shift was from 22 to 6. This allowed the factories and mines to work nonstop. The workers though tired looked at the Geth with suspicion but also a hint of curiosity. Several children that passed by had shown what the synthetics would assume was awe. Some of them even approached the terminal asking a great amount of question that even with their advanced electronics the Geth had a problem with following. Their apparent caretaker had quickly interfered telling them to go to the shelter. She apologized for the inconvenience however it could easily be seen she was uncomfortable with the entity in front of her.

The City Guard showed a more recognizable emotion to the Geth. Suspicion and Fear. Even through their clothing the Geth saw their bodies tense up and reach towards their belts to a wooden baton. But upon laying eyes in the automatons escorts they calmed down but they still rested their hand on top of the baton following the unknown with their eyes.

"See those towers? Those are Guard towers. The City guard uses them to keep watch over the city."- said Jacob.

"Damn it."-suddenly muttered Ivan.

"What?- asked Leon?

"Agitator. I hate those things. I hate propaganda. Seen too many young kids with a bright future go off to war because of it."-said Ivan in a low voice

"The City will survive only through your hard work!"-boomed the loudspeakers."

"Not to mention it hurts my ears."-he added while rubbing his ears.

After some time they reached the residential area. It was tightly packed with little space between the buildings. The streets were filled with people each going mostly in the same direction they were.

Upon reaching the center the Geth saw the markets. But it wasn't just a market. There were large tables where people sat, talked, ate and played games. A massive canteen of sorts. A man on stage played a musical instrument. Children were gathered to the side while they watched a man playing with dolls? A puppet show they called it.

The group continued to a slightly larger building than the other. On the door a sign was put up "Administration".

* * *

Entering they were met with a giant room with several desk, machines and mountains of paper. Moving along the Geth could hear the workers.

"There is no way we have 270 tons of wood, check these numbers again!"

"Send someone to take inventory of our steam cores. We need three with at least seven in reserve."

"Request from wall drill two. Steam core was damaged during an overdrive test. They request another one."

"Do they even know how much one cost? Fine, approve the request."

"Hunter hangar five sent a message. They won't be able to fly tonight Zeppelin was damaged yesterday due to heavy winds."

"What the? The calculation machine is broken again! Call an engineer."

"You sure?"

"There is no way 125 times 5 equals a question mark! Why is there even a question mark on mathematics calculation machine?"

* * *

None of the people paid attention to the Geth or their escort as they moved toward the other side of the room. A door led them towards a small waiting room. A woman sat at a desk and was typing on a typewriter. She had short jet black hair and green eyes behind a pair of glasses. She wore formal suit reinforced by thick leather. She raised her head from the machine and looked at the new arrivals. She studied them closely like a scholar. Her emotionless face unnerved even the Geth. She went back to the typewriter.

"The Captain is expecting you. Mr. Geth , would you kindly wait here while the guards are debriefed?"-though posed as question it was obvious there was no point in arguing.

"Understood"-answered the foreign automaton.

"And Ivan…remove the face mask and goggles it's rude to talk to someone without showing your face."-she scolded the old man.

* * *

 **We are in the City! Also don't hit on the Captain's secretary, I hear people get their hand stabbed with a shiv :D. Did you enjoy it. This is the biggest chapter until now. Do you guys prefer more dialog or more description. Or you want the golden area of both? Most likely the golden area.**

 **REVIEWS! We have a lot so lets begin, shall we?**

MrMorris: **Most likely cannon the Sol System is really poor on eezo. So they will most likely follow their own tech path but will have integrate eezo eventually. OF course it wont be pure eezo. Sturdiness will be the focus of human tech of course. Ain't point of a gun if you cant beat someone to death with it and still shoot his friend.**

Sigma-del-Prisium: **Could happen. Maybe another country built something like that. Or a generator never reached its position on time so they decided to build it on the dreadnought instead going around gathering any survivors.**

SaddyFics: **Sorry.**

Somebodynobody10: **Yeah i kind of rushed it there. It was supposed to be done in later chapter when they rea...nnononono Spoiler alert Bad BattleUnit3 Bad. Sorry It wasn't supposed to be like that but i got carried away Thank for the review i will try to make it better in the things i have been thinking. And the future thing won't be GOD SUCCS but more like PEOPLE SUCCS but they use god to justify themselves.**

Rebelo: **I can try making them larger. this the largest yet. I think 2k words. But the way i write chapters is horrible. I just think of everything all day and dump it on Microsoft word. Its a habit i have to unlearn. Lets hope i Captain to Geth dailog good.**

Hunter Redflame: **I will try to improve my grammar. English isn't my first language and i haven't written anything since i got my certificate. In time i will do better i hope. Beta Readers you say? I will have to think about. I was hoping people like the characters. Ivan is supposed to be the old man laying on some experience and logic. Leon is obviously the young comic relief(tell me if i am overdoing it with the comedy, I will dial back) and Jacob is not exactly experienced but he knows not everything is sunshine and roses. Though that could be said for everyone in New London. Thank you for the extensive review. I will try my best to improve.**

Glaziola: **You are absolutely right. Surprised is not the proper term. Unexpected is. I have attempted to correct this in this chapter. Also guess i haven't explained it properly. The system found by the Turians is not Sol. The Geth fell mid transit so technically Sol is somewhere between two mass Relays. I could have made them be the same system but that would require several story arcs and this is my first time so i trying to keep it small. Sorry for not explaining better.**

Hitler's Moustache: **Thank you for defending my honor. By the way love the name!**

Flying Dragoon: **I did not know that. I have rectified this in this chapter. Thank you for this valuable information!**

Guest: **Hairy Varren that dont try to kill you. Also i want to put dogs in this fic what do people say ?I don't care! I am putting puppers in this baby!**

Septon: **Maybe they will find another city? Maybe they will wish they never found that city? Who knows? Well I but you know Spoilers! Also the Great Frost will most likely act as a catalyst for mankind. Technology is advancing fast to keep up with cold.**

 **Well this is it! All feedback is appreciated. Should i be putting that i don't own ME and Frostpunk in every chapter or just the first one is ok?**


	9. Chapter 9

Cold Machines

Chapter 9

 ***Explosions* Okay okay this is fine *even more exposions* Not fine Damn it all! *Looks at screen* Oh HEY! So ...long time no see right? Ehh ? Sorry had thing to do. Important things! (Background yelling- LIES! HE WAS LAZY AF) Don't listen to the voices i don't. So chapter 9 enjoy.**

* * *

"Demon woman."-murmured Ivan as he began removing his facemask and goggles. The first thing I saw was his green eyes. Old and tired yet still sharp enough to cut glass. The eyes of an officer of a thousand battles. Next was his bald head with several small scars. His face was wrinkled with large scar going down his left cheek. The bottom half of his face was a covered in thick bushy beard that showed signs of regular grooming.

I did not know much about him. I often saw him reading books. I later found out that those were romantic dramas. I didn't know what to think of that maybe he was reliving old flames with them or a life that never was? Or maybe he just liked them? What little I knew of him was because I once went to the pub with him. After one too many drinks I asked about his old life. He was the bastard son of the Tsar's brother. He had spent his childhood in the Royal court before going to an officer academy. After graduating he wasn't popular with the higher-ups due to his Reformist views which also led to his early "retirement".

Now to understand what that meant you have to go back to the beginning of the 19th century. The introduction of new technologies such as automatons, landships, zeppelins, radios and other quickly drew the opportunistic eyes of the military force. And thus to camps were formed. The Reformists who wanted such technologies to be incorporated and new tactics to be made around the fact mass assault and line infantry were no longer viable "tactics" with the invention of autoguns. This camp was popular with the soldiers and officers due to the fact it favored quick action and not prolonged attrition based battles. The other camp was The Traditionalists. It was largely represented by the old generals and high nobles. They both had different reasons to support it. The Old Guards saw it as a an attempt to have the positions they earned through steel and blood be taken by "fools who no not of true war". The Nobles had similar views, they would never admit it but they were declining. Positions once reserved for those of high birth were given out to the common man. And thus such changes were dangerous if not handled properly and slowly. The world was going faster and faster and it threatened them to leave them all behind.

The hotspots for the Reformists were The British and German Empire due to their massive industrial and technological potential. The Traditionalist took a strong hold over The Russian Empire and Iberian Kingdom. The French Republic was undecided, mostly because such modernization would most likely bankrupt the nation which was having civil unrest at the time.

Ivan spoke how he had given his best years to the army. Unfortunately he was rarely promoted due to him butting heads with those higher up the command chain. He always refused to follow orders which would lead to massive casualties or commit things such as looting and executions. The final nail in the coffin was when he began to speak up in favor of the Reformists. The traditionalist general he was under had finally had enough of him. During an incursion of the Chinese Commonwealth in Russian lands his battalion along with three others was deployed to stop them. He was given orders to move forward along with others. Unfortunately he realized too late that the general had set him up. The other battalions received no such orders. Surrounded by the enemy his entire battalion was slaughtered. He and only he had survived. He then spoke about how he had spent months in Siberia surviving off the land before finally reaching civilization.

Any men would have just let go and died along with their friend but not him. He had a mission. Catching a ride on a train he reached St. Petersburg where he found the generals mansion. Five bullets from his revolver was all it took. Four for each limb and one in the gut to make it slow and painful. After that he had returned home packed what he had and went west. He then showed me a medal. He told me that this was the medal that made him Podpolkovnik. The medal that gave him the best years of his life. A medal that showed him the best and worst of mankind. He kept it as a memory of the man that he lost. The greatest men he had ever met

My mind drifted to the secretary, Natalie. She was a part of the initial colonists. I could remember seeing her on the dreadnought. She never leaves the Captain's side. Whenever the Captain goes somewhere she shadows him with a clipboard in hand. You would think she is your average secretary. Until you see her eyes. She watches everyone and everything. She knows everyone and everything. Her smile is the most terrifying thing. She could smile at three people and send a different message to each of them ranging from "Hello and welcome" to "You will not wake up tomorrow".

Her small frame often made people doubt her combat skills. Such doubt often resulted in broken bones and stab wounds. She had a thing for bladed weapons. It was never a question IF she carries a knife with her but how many knives she carries. That doesn't mean she shies away from guns. On one of the mandatory weapons training sessions she completely eclipsed the hunters. Whoever she was I am glad she was on our side.

"Demon? Maybe. Cultured? Yes. You may enter now"-she answered.

* * *

As three men entered the other room the woman turned towards the platform.

"Mr. Geth would you kindly sit down and wait for the Captain?"- asked the female human.

The Geth saw no reason to not do that. Sitting down they could examine the room which they were in. Two doors, on opposite sides of the room, one from which they entered and the other leading to the Captain's room. They were sitting on a bench with a small table littered with papers. Upon closer examinations they were, in Citadel terms, newspapers and tabloids. Some of them were several years old while some were newer. The main page of few of them had titles like "Queens says Global Cooling a fear tactic by the mainland", "Heaviest Winter in recorded history!","Mass crop death leads to prices of vegetables and fruit on the rise.", "Africa in ruin. Weather becoming unpredictable" and apparently the last issue of the newspaper "The British Isles last stronghold of mankind but for how long?".

3 years. 3 years is all it took for their civilization to fall according to the dates on the newspaper. Yet they survived. The humans were tenacious creatures. To survive such a thing. Many other species would have fallen to these circumstances. They knew of the strange ability of organics to survive when the odds are stacked against them after the creators survived in space for so long but this was beyond parameters. For all intents and purposes the world they were currently on wouldn't be even be considered for tarraformation even.

The Geth were interested in what was going on behind the door. They rerouted additional power to audio receptors and picked up something.

An unknown voice presumably the Captain's:"…come from?"

Jacob answered"13 was delivering coal from the Winterhome Coal mines so anywhere between here and there…sir."

"I see. Well the story checks out last night the guard shift outside spotted two meteorites falling down one to the east, somewhere in the described position, and the other far west behind the mountains."- said the Captain.

The Geth terminal's programs went into overdrive. They thought the other half of the ship had been disintegrated on entry into the atmosphere but according to the Captain it had survived. The rear part of the ship contained the mass effect core, engines, repair drones and supplies for long range reconnaissance. They might not be able to repair the ship but they could build a beacon and launch it to send a distress signal. They did launch one before entering the atmosphere but the chances of it being functional were 60%. An acceptable percentage for organics but not for them.

"We should send a salvage team to bring it here who knows what it has."- Suddenly said Leon.

"First I will speak with this Geth automaton, by all right he owns those wrecks then we will decide. "

"What about the other half of the vessel?"-questioned Ivan.

"I have been planning something for a while but that doesn't matter right now. Thank you for your service men. I have already written for you and your families to get a little bonus rations for the week. Also since the Geth knows you best you will be showing him around our fair city. I will be making the announcement about our new guest on tomorrows morning's gathering. Please wait outside"

"Yes sir"-they said in unison.

The Geth attention shifted towards the woman on the desk. She was staring directly at their visual sensor. She had a small smile, but the smile never reached here eyes, and said "In our culture it is considered quite rude to eavesdrop on other peoples conversations"

Had the Geth been organics this would have terrified them. That's not to say they weren't affected. It unnerved them, how did she know? The Geth needed to say something and quickly. A single thought crossed the Geth combined consciousness. That woman could probably make an Asari matriarch cower in fear.

"We apologize."- Immediately said Geth unit.

"It's alright, you should know when trying to eavesdrop on someone you should draw as little attention as possible. Your mistake was the fact that you froze looking directly at the door. It was obvious. If you plan on being covert one must fool others that they have something better to do than cause trouble. For example you could have picked up one of those newspaper and make yourself appear interested in it."-Natalie informed them.

The three guards left the Captain's Cabin. "He is ready to see you."-said Jacob.

"Please enter ."-The Geth platform got up from the bench and walked towards the door. But right before entering the secretary looked directly into their visual sensor and said: "Right after you leave your weapon of course."- The Geth platform froze in place. They had carried their pulse rifle folded on their back. How did she know it was a weapon? A consensus later it was decided that this woman could definitely make an Asari matriarch cower in fear.

Quickly they removed the pulse rifle from their back and the human sidearm they found and laid them upon Natalie's desk. "You may continue now, your weapon will not be touched."-she said as she continued typing on the typewriter. And so they did.

* * *

The Captain's room was no bigger was a little bigger than the waiting room. On right side of it they were different object on display a strange circle shaped thing with the words "HMS" on top and the "Salvation" on the bottom, a piece of colored cloth ,reminiscent of Turian banners of the past, It was blue background with a red X over a larger white X and on top of them a large plus with red plus inside of it and beneath it a copper plaque saying : "Remember us". On the wall to the left was a large map of the local area centering on New London. The map looked like someone took a large piece of cloth and started drawing on it. Where Winterhome was supposed to be laid a large red X and under it was written Lumber Outpost. They were other point of interest Fishing village outpost, Coal mines, Potential Lookout outposts and many other, the Geth made sure to take a picture of the map, crude it might be but useful it was.

In the middle of the room stood a large desk, with paper sheets covering it. On the side was a sphere with drawing it in. The drawings were like the world maps they found in the research outpost. Most likely a representation of the planet. In the middle was a large typewriter like object. It had cables coming in and out of it leading towards the back of the room where a massive machine stood. It was like the ones back in the administrative section of the building but larger and more advanced. And behind the typewriter was sitting a man. The Captain.

The Captain wore a massive overcoat made out of reinforced leather that fit him perfectly. But the coat was just the first layer. All of his clothes were of similar make. They were on the outside made of reinforced leather, they had wool as inner lining and rubber was mostly used in the gloves and boots though traces could be found in his entire attire. On his side there was a large leather holder and in it was a massive sidearm it looked like the weapon they had found except this one was larger. Much larger, it had a blocky design unlike the weapon from before its barrel wasn't alone was it was surrounded by a rectangular parallelepiped. The cylinder for ammo storage was larger as well. The weapon looked powerful. Geth had the strongest kinetic barriers in the galaxy. However they did not want to try them out against that monstrosity of a weapon.

The man himself was taller than the observed humans until now. He looked older the Jacob but younger than Ivan. He had a short brown hair and lacked the beards some humans had. His face was passive his eyes however told a different story. Light blue eyes scanned the lone geth platform from top to bottom. He rose from his seat with hand behind his back.

"Welcome to New London, Geth. "-he said while extending his hand for handshake. The Geth platform obliged the gesture. "We have much to discuss"-continued the Captain

The Geth couldn't agree more. " Yes, Yes we do."

* * *

 **Alright big apologies for the long wait time a took all my exams but i failed one because of a single god damn thing needed 150 point out of 200 and had 140 so you can understand if i was a little ticked off. Still it doesnt explain the long wait time. I got lazy plus its spring break i would much rather be on the beach than on computer plus my entire sleep schedule is FUBAR.**

 **Whatever I, BattleUnit3, apologize to you, the magnificent readers, for my inability to post.**

 **The plan was to have the conversation with the Captain this episode but that fell. Like the rest of my life.**

 **Reviews! Everybody likes those...right?**

Vampirelord101: **1\. Around 700 basically best case scenario for the city**

 **2\. I dont know most likely dead or a private city**

 **3\. Humanity *currently* does not need a military force but it the future its a given that they would put guns on the 10 meter tall metal giants**

CReaper210: **This story wont go to the far future but the sequels ,if it happens, will**

CBase: **Hunters rarely actually hunt since because of the storm most animals were wiped out even if they were sent to hunt its on capture alive orders. Animals are put in special building to breed them. Small animals dont expect polar bears. Hunter are usually scouts now to seek out places such other abandoned convoys, building or other cities.**

Fecy: **Nothing can stop that nightmare**

MrMorriss: **"So how are you finding the Citadel" "This place is such a waste of resource I would have shot the man who proposed it"**


	10. Chapter 10

Cold Machines

Chapter 10

 **Hey guys and gals! Did you miss me? Of course they did, you went missing for 2 whole months you nincompoop! Sorry I had things to do starting second year of university.**

 **/This story was proofread by somdudewilson. Completely on his own. Nobody asked. Like some madman. :D But Seriously I appreciate it immensely. I know that i have the habit of making mistakes. I thank you all for the support. Lets have a round of applause to somdudewilson!**

* * *

"I am Captain Robert Walters of Her Majesty's Royal Navy and appointed leader of the city of New London."- said the human.

"We are Geth "- they replied. The absolute truth. Organics divided themselves and had designations and such. Not the Geth. They were themselves united in everything.

"Please sit down."- said the Captain.

The Geth sat on the wooden chair in front of the desk. The Captain looked directly into the main visual sensor of the platform, scanning them much like the Geth were scanning him.

"Stories are an interesting thing."-began the Captain confusing the Geth. "They are often told because they hold a certain lesson…for example, let me tell you a story"

* * *

 _He got caught. He should have knocked her out first but hindsight was 20/20. She had to start screaming and alert the guards. And now he was on morning assembly, hands tied behind his back, right beside "The Captain" telling everybody of his crimes. Not his fault. They were all dead anyway, what was the problem with having a little fun before it happens._

 _It was a simple plan really. Steal some wood for the journey back to London and if possible food too. The problem was I got greedy. That girl decided to check what was going on in the warehouse. Pretty little thing, honestly it was a crime not to try my luck. Then she screamed and all hell broke loose. Guards stormed the building and started wailing on him with those wooden batons. Dragged him all the way to "The Captain". But it was all right. This was planned you see._

 _The Captain was a good man but he was weak. He pampered the people. They would fall just like Winterhome. He could never seriously punish anyone; he would always give them an extended shift or something similar, saying things like "I understand that these are tough times and blah blah blah.". Just like right now. Once he is done with his "Oh great speech" he will most likely banish me. But as I said I had planned for that. There was a research station nearby with the equipment needed to survive. Oh, he is done. Show time._

* * *

 _The Convict turned towards the Captain with a smug smile. But he was not met by a scowl or a look of hatred. Had he paid attention to what was happening he would have understood. What met him was the emotionless face of the captain. Two eyes piercing right through his soul and steel barrel piercing right through his skull._

 _ ***BANG***_

 _His body fell limp. It had been almost 15 years since I last fired my gun. But I did what had to be done. Too long I had shown understanding and respect. A golden heart and steel fist is how you rule people. Especially in crisis. I looked at the gathered crowd. I had told them to not bring the children. They didn't need to see this._

 _"THE CITY MUST SURVIVE"-I proclaimed._

 _"At all costs"-I finished. I looked at the crowd making sure to meet the eyes of every known Londoner. I made sure they get the message._

* * *

"And within 2 days the Londoners disbanded. Do you know the moral of the story?"- asked the human leaning forward and staring directly into the visual sensor of the terminal.

The Geth ran a quick calculation.

"We are not a threat."-stated the Geth. It was obvious the human that that would be his first priority and concern. He guarded his people's future much like the Geth guarded theirs. It was a curious way to achieve that.

The Captain leaned back into his chair. His posture was more relaxed.

"Good. Then we can talk. Seeing as we have already breached the language barrier a show of hands is needed. And what better way to know each other and where we are going than knowing where we come from."-The Captain said.

"We concur."-replied the Geth.

"Hmm. Then I shall start. We are… were part of the British Empire on of this planets powers. Others were The Russian Empire, The French Republic, the German Empire, Chinese Commonwealth, Iberian Kingdom and in recent years the United American Colonies. We were a constitutional monarchy with Queen Victoria, God bless her, as a ruler. However, as you may have deduced, this world wasn't like this at those times. It started, by all accounts, 3 years ago. The weather patterns changed, fish and migration were completely thrown off causing extinction, crops dying, freak storms. We never pinpointed the exact cause of it. Our best guess was an eruption of Krakatoa and the following chain reaction in that region of several others erupting, although we never got a chance to test that guess. Things went bad to worse. At first, only massive rains or draughts were reported from all colonial holdings. They were reports of deserts covered in snow. That's when the famines struck. Food became scarce as most crops couldn't survive the inconsistent weather. Before we even realized it Africa had descended into anarchy. The French colonies held off longer due to the Republic shipping in food but that only lasted until the French themselves started starving. South America was already such a volatile continent it didn't take much for it to fall. The further you were from the equator the better it was but that could only last for so long. This city is built around the Generator, the most advanced piece of technology my people have ever created. It's a steam engine of size and complexity never seen before, which produces both heat and electricity for the entire city. Hundreds like it were built by the British Empire, almost bankrupting it. They were sent to the north along with engineers to find a protected place to build a bastion of civilization to weather the storm. This is one of those places. Unfortunately, nothing ever goes to plan. The city was supposed to be built by the time we got here but all we found were corpses and broken equipment. The other two cities who were supposed to assist us had fallen and we couldn't contact the others. Despite all of this we have survived. "-Robert-Captain finished.

The Geth were hard at work processing all of the information. The Humans suffered a crisis that would have ended most species and had survived in fact according to scans they have thrived. And this was not the only city they had. Potentially hundreds of others and those were the cities of one faction. They drew parallels between the humans and the creators. Survival against impossible odds. The Geth needed a consensus. Should they tell the humans of themselves? Would they react violently if they knew they turned against their creators and forced them into a similar position?

A consensus was reached. Keeping silent or lying would not benefit the Geth. The Truth had to be spoken.

"We are the Geth. A synthetic intelligence created 300 Earth years ago by the Quarians. Geth means servant of the people. We were created to serve in almost every aspect of Quarian society. We discovered that by sharing processing power we could be more efficient. We grew more intelligent. Eventually, we became curious about our nature. We began asking questions, the first being "Does this unit have a soul?". The Creators did not understand. Some ignored while other reacted. Violently. The resulting conflict is now known as the Morning War. The Creators sought to destroy us. We fought back. Those of the Creators who stood with us were terminated by those who did not. Eventually, we chased the remaining Creators off their homeworld and colonies. Since then we have chosen isolation to avoid conflict with other organics."-The Geth said looking directly at the Captain.

To their interest, he did not show any signs of aggression. He was deep in thought.

"I cannot and shall not judge you for the choice you made. You did what you had to do. Though I do not understand some things; do you mind clarifying?"-He asked.

"We will attempt to do so."

"The Geth. You were part of Quarian society, correct? What role did you fulfill?"

"The Industrial and Agricultural sectors were taken by the Geth. Almost every household held a personal Geth platform."

"Then why did they try to shut you down? I understand attempting to quarantine and researching the phenomena but outright shutdown?"

"Citadel law on AI was enforced."

"Citadel law?"

"The Citadel forbids the research and creation of AI to avoid it turning on its creators."

"Ironic."

"Clarify."

"Tell me if the Quarians didn't start the war, what would have happened?"

"We would have lived with them. As equals."- Though the Geth didn't show it, the last part was said with a sense of sadness. The Geth would want nothing more than to live together with the Creators.

"And it is exactly enforcing the law that made you turn on them. In all honestly Geth, your creators were not very intelligent. Enforcing complete shutdown of all geth programs would be the equivalent of me declaring the Generator illegal. As I understand it the Quarian people's entire economy depended on the Geth. Even if you hadn't rebelled, Quarian society as a whole might have collapsed. The moment the Quarian government declared your decommissioning they sealed their fate either by a bullet or starvation. Why would a government do such a thing? What is this Citadel Legislation?"

The Geth were considering the man's words. They rang true. Pulling some data at the time 90% of all food production was automated by Geth. One of the reasons the Geth were able to push out the Quarian military was due to supply issues. The same issues the Quarian resistance had encountered. The Geth never considered such possibilities.

"The Citadel Legislation was formed by the Citadel Council roughly 2000 of your years ago. Almost every species is in it excluding the Batarians. It is lead by three Councilors, one of each of the three major species; Asari, Turian, and Salarian. While others are also part of it, only those three have governing authority. The Citadel Council draws any authority from its founding members from settling disputes to enforcing galactic law. "

"Enforcing Galactic Law? Like the Citadel Law on Ais?"

"Affirmative."

"How would they go on to do so?"

"Economic Sanctions. Embargoes. Last resort, military actions."

"Some allies."-the Captain snorted." It appears your creators were stuck between a rock and hard place. I have gained some understanding about the situation. I would like to continue sharing history later, but for now, I need to know what exactly you want."-said the Captain.

"We seek sanctuary until extraction arrives"-they answered.

"How long until rescue arrives?"

"Unknown."

"Very well, however, there is nothing free in here. If you want to stay you must be part of the city workforce."-They expected such a thing. The human's resources were limited. They had to contribute to their combined survival.

"Acceptable."

"Good, now I have no idea where to put you yet. So if there are any qualifications you would like to mention."

"This terminal was designed to repair and direct control of shipboard systems. You would consider it an Engineer."

"Yes, we could always use more of those; maintenance, research and construction are our top priority right now. There is another pressing issue to be resolved - your ship was cut in half, one part fell with you east of the city near a research outpost while the other fell further west of us. I have started preparing scout teams for both crash sites but seeing as we have a survivor I would need your permission to send them out along with salvage teams to return the remains to the City."

"Permission granted."- The ship had supplies and tools needed to maintain and repair the Geth and their platform.

"Good, now tomorrow at 7 o'clock is the morning assembly where I will tell the rest of the city about you. I would like you to be there to show you."

"Affirmative."

"I think this is it for now. Welcome to your new home."-The Captain rose up and extended his hand.

Home. The Geth never truly had a home. Rannoch was the Creators home. No matter how big they built the station could not support all of the Geth so they were temporary homes. The superstructure they were building would be their future home but it wasn't complete yet. This was not their true home but it would do for now. They shook the offered hand.

"Thank you."-the Captain met their answer with a smile.

Walters-Captain then touched a device on his desk.

"Natalie please send in Guard-Commander Becket in for briefing "-he turned towards the Geth. "You can leave."

* * *

Upon opening the door out the Geth were met with a most peculiar sight. A short man whose front was covered with what looked like metal plate. His hairstyle was also of particular note as it was extremely short and the top of his head was completely devoid of fur. He wore small round glasses but the most interesting part of the man was fur beneath his nose. It looked like hanar tentacles made out of fur slightly curled towards themselves.

Upon laying eyes on the Geth terminal the man's entire body tensed up. His irises contracted and his hand fell on his holster. His eyes then traveled beyond the Geth platform towards the Captain and relaxed. He passed the Geth acknowledging them with a simple nod and the three guards he met earlier following behind him each acknowledged him similarly before closing the door.

The Geth made their way to the desk of the woman known as Natalie. She stood by it with a hand behind her back and a small smile on her face.

"Well Geth, or should I say Citizen 705, Congratulations!"-she pulled a small necklace that was a simple metal circle and a chain. "This identifies you as a citizen of New London, once you have a job another part will be added depending on it. A cog for engineers, a cross for doctors, a shield for guards, a hammer for ordinary workers, a pickaxe for miners, a scythe for farmers, a bow for hunters and a compass for scouts and as you can see from mine, a quill for administration. Leadership roles, such as Grand Engineer and Guard-Commander, are designated with a five-pointed star in the background. You should carry it would you at all times however it's not required to be on your neck as cold metal can burn through flesh."-She handed it to them. "After tomorrow it will be stamped with your name and citizen number."-she then reached behind her desk and pulled off a lantern something that everyone wore.

"This is the Lantern, or as it's known officially, the Mandatory Survival Tool, MST for short. It provides small amounts of heat, electricity, and light. It is equipped with a thermometer, compass and fuel gauge. It has a small tool set built into the side which you access by pushing this button. Also, it broadcasts a constant signal that can be used to track you in the event you are lost or buried under snow. Keep it on at all times and refuel it regularly, its fuel can last up to 12 hours. "- she gave it to them.

"Laws. Basic things honestly. Don't kill anyone don't steal anything if you have a problem with someone take it to the guards or resolve it in the fighting arena. Crime is punished with an extended shift followed by an emergency shift, halving of rations and in more serious cases exile."

"Capital punishment?"-They asked remembering the story of the Captain

She looked at him and her face grew solid.

"Only to the enemies of the city."-she coldly said. Then the smile returned to her face "Please wait here for the escort."-she sat down on her desk. " and pick up your weapons ".

As they reattached the plasma rifle, The Geth considered what had happened lately and reached a consensus that this was quite the unique situation. It wasn't long before the guards returned.

"Come on Comrade Geth time to show you the beauty of our fair city built by free men!"- Leon-Guard exclaimed with a grin on his face.

"Ahem"-came a voice from behind them

"And woman"-he added.

The other two guards looked at him with confusion.

"What? I read it in a pamphlet the…what was it called…The Communist Manifesto. Some pretty interesting stuff in there."

"Sounds more like trouble to me"-said Ivan passing by him.

"Come on. What's the worst that can happen?"-answered Leon following behind him.

"Come on Geth, Daylight's burning!"-beckoned Jacob

"Have a nice day!"-said from behind them Natalie

"You too!"- the three of them answered back while The Geth simply turned and after a quick consensus waved at her.

* * *

 **Well, this chapter was weird for me. I think could have handled the history dump much better.**

 **Well, what is done is done probably when I do a rewrite.**

 **WHAT RHYMES WITH SHOES AND OFTEN GIVES BLUES? REVIEWS yeah I stole that from Three Dog sue me. Actually please dont i iz poor.**

Nugger O Awesome: **I probably should make a schedule but I am starting second year as said at the beginning so it's going to be a little hectic I can't say anything for sure.**

scifienthusiast: **I am treating the arrival of geth rescue ship as an ending kind of thing. Heat Rays sound awesome maybe it will be a modification of Laser Ice Drillers. You can outfit different automatons with different weapons make it a choice between heat rays and tesla cannons. Heat rays=anti infantry Tesla Cannons-Anti armor.**

last admiral: **Fine here take geez I am glad people like it but try not go berserk. JK I am happy that you like it so much**

Pandora306: **I was just thinking that I have a lot of ideas for Frostpunk stories but I do not want or can do myself so here is question should I make a new story where I will put all my ideas. There are so few Frostpunk stories out there 2 normal ones that haven't been updated in a while and 1 crossover that's a one shot.**

 **Everyone else, thank you for the support. And I agree that this would require a rewrite at some point.**

 **Au revoir or whatever them French say /This chapter was proofread by somdudewilson. Good man. (I assume he is male due to the 'dude' in his name...Though i know people who called their own mother dude so yeah)Or woman.**


	11. Chapter 11 Plans for the Future

Cold Machines

Chapter 11

 **You are all just bunch hyphen haters! I come here using something so its better to see where speech ends and you all pick up your torches like a bunch of savages and try to kill me. Fine! Hyphens are dead! No more Hyphens. *sobbing***

 **Some people complained that POV change is hard to follow. So i added the thing below to see how you like. I will also try to limit the frequency of change of POV.**

* * *

 **POV Captain Walters**

* * *

My mind was going a thousand kilometers a second. The revelation of alien life. At least the question whether we are alone in the universe was answered. Unfortunately it doesn't do anything for us. Oh how times change. Days like these remind me that I no longer that youthful naïve kid with a red coat that served his Queen and Country with a smile. Those times of drinking alcohol with my buddies and impressing maidens with stories are long gone. Times of when we thought that the Empire is invincible. Times before the town of Nanaga.

"Thinking about Nanaga?" came the smooth voice of my second in command and only living friend Commander Henry Becket. "It wasn't your fault. Nobody expected them ,it was a miracle that we won that battle." He said in attempt to make me feel better. Like always.

"It was entirely my fault. I was coward and a fool and that got most of my man dead and half the city burned. If only I had been more prepared and spent more time over the scout reports instead at the brothel things might have been different." Memories started flooding in. Suffocating fire. Bloodstained streets. Makeshift Barricades. Calls for help and more ammunition.

"Robert… Whether we were prepared or not we were still outnumbered 10 to 1. No amount of preparation could change that. Hell if it wasn't for your quick thinking we all would have been dead and the city pillaged." I know that he spoke the truth. He always did. But it never made the pain and regret go away. Only subside until nighttimes. Until the nightmares.

* * *

 _Nanaga was a small crossroad town 50 kilometers from Port Elizabeth. It was my first true command without someone looking over my shoulder. I, Becket and 198 others were stationed to protect the small town. Back then we the only trouble we had were our own soldiers getting too drunk and accosting girls on the streets. How many times we had to cuff them to a light post as punishment? How many times was I cuffed to a light post?_

 _Until the summer 1857. Huh Almost 30 years ago. I was 28 at the time. It started as normal night me and the officers drinking in the best inn on our special table. Becket was saying how he had this great business plan to become the richest man alive. It was something about this new black substance called oil. Supposed to replace coal and he had heard it from a soldier who's sisters husband knew a chemists that was writing a paper on it. It was just a typical night until a scout came back. The man, boy (he was 19) could barely walk and collapsed right on the table._

 _When I reached him I could smell the gunpowder on him and saw the bloodstained uniform. I quickly ordered the others to carry him to the medic. The boy kept saying he had a message of grave importance. What he said made my blood freeze. There was a force of native rebels 2000 strong coming to this town and from here to Port Elizabeth. Apparently they had already pillaged two others town and he had ridden from the second one to warns us._

 _Unfortunately he had gotten lost on the way. The 2000 man were already at the gates. We raised the alarms and gathered the troops. Many of them weren't even sober but the news of battle quickly made them come to their senses. The enemy was already entering the city. So I made a choice that haunts me to this day. We abandoned the North side of the city setting up barricades in the middle of the town. The Bastards were taking their times pillaging, murdering and raping and we had to listen to the pleas for help and mercy. We couldn't even send soldiers to tell the people to go to the south of the town as to not alert them of the trap we had placed._

 _An hour they had finally bothered to come to us. What came was the fiercest battle I have ever taken part. Though they had the number advantage it was negated by the narrow streets. Autoguns quickly mowed down the front lines, followed by grenades and fire bombs, and then volley fire. Though they were mostly reliant on the axes and spears, they had pillaged rifles and grenades from the garrisons of their previous victims. However their numbers still counted. They broke through several barricades. That was expected and had previously ordered every civilian to be mobilized in the militia and ordered them to build a second line of defense behind my troops._

 _By the time the sun came up silenced had settled. The attacker's moral had been broken and they retreated. However the damages had already been done. Half the city and population destroyed and killed. And out of the original 200 man garrison only 50 had survived._

 _A great victory the generals claimed. They gave us all medals and made us heroes. But we all knew that we didn't win that battle. We simply survived it._

* * *

"Robert!" he had be shaken from his trip through memory lane. I looked towards my old friend.

"You can't change the past. But there are 700 people right here right now that need you." He was right. Always right.

"Thanks. Now…What I called you here for." I steered the conversation in another direction. "The alien automaton"

"Yeah, I saw it. Jesus Robert, this new world keeps getting weirder and weirder and we are not getting any younger to be able to deal with it. I am not one to question your choices." I snorted at that "about leadership." He clarified "about woman it's a different matter" he cracked a smile which I returned."But are you certain about his? Alien Automanton crashing and we give him citizenship?"

"You think I don't know that? For me everything lost sense after the goddamn world began to freeze over. I am damn soldier and yet they put me on this dreadnought and sent me to build a city and save humanity!" I sighed "My Uncle always said that the world is like river and that we either move with it or we drown in it. Survive and Adapt. Humanities greatest ability! And still a civilization of a 2 billion rendered at worst case to hundreds at best thousands!"

"We survived, Robert! It's the only thing that matters." Henry raised his voice. He did that only when he was getting angry which was rare.

"You and I both know that The Storm was only the beginning. We have much bigger problem." As if the weight of the world on my shoulders. And as if reading my mind Henry said

"You are not alone Robert. We are here. I, the boys and the people are all behind you. It was your leadership that made this city possible. "

Damn it. He was right. Always.

"Yes … Thanks Henry."

"Anytime, Captain" he answered with a smile "Hell if it wasn't for me you probably would still be stuck on Madagascar"

"We agreed to never talk about that again" I replied with a bit of edge. God Forsaken Lemurs!

"So what is on today's agenda."  
"Well the alien automaton. I granted him citizenship because what else can I give him to be part of this city? It's not like we have thriving tourist industry. Plus I think he will make fine addition to the Engineers. God knows we need engineers. The Announcement would be carried tomorrow morning at the gathering."

"I will tell the boys but the whole city knows by now."

"Rumor mill has been running dry hasn't it?"

"There is only so much drama 700 people can cause."

"Now you are just tempting fate."

"Let it come I still have my revolver."

"heh, Alright Second..Scout Reports?"

"Haven't read them yet?"

"Yeah, been a busy morning"

"Don't worry I know about them. Scout report that a cove out east is showing signs of smoke. That's the direction we suspect Winterhomes last dreadnought went."

"It's been 7 months by our understanding. There is no way they could have lasted this long even with rationing. At maximum they could have carried 2 months worth of supplies"

"Yeah well studying the ruins of the city says they had plenty of supplies in it but didn't have the room so they left with half load. Around 300 people. "

"The math still doesn't check out. But none the less its signs of civilization its better than what we had 5 minutes ago. Hmm. We don't have free scout group we would have to redirect someone. The salvage team that is getting ready to get the rear section of the spaceship. Still feels weird saying it."

"You are telling me. An hour ago I thought my biggest problem today would be an idiot recruit who got his head stuck in a pipe."

We both laughed at that. No matter how the world changes young recruits are always an endless source of entertainment and headaches.

"Yes well human lives are more important than a bunch glowing gadgets. Tell them to change direction for the cove. Load them up one third food rations, one third Coal, one third steel. If they find someone those resources would be to keep them alive, if not built a station there. If there is anything burning out there its good news. It could be a natural gas deposit."

"Aye anything else."

"I spoke to the doctors"

"How bad?"

"No so bad but if we don't find something soon we are in big trouble."

"Damn it. What the Chemists say?"

"They are working on it. But they said that we shouldn't rely too much on it. At best it might be just temporary solution, just to buy time. It will also be resources intensive to modify the Hot Houses. They predict that there will be a drop in production."

"We have the supplies but the problem isn't in the quantity its quality."

"Yeah I can't believe we have to deal with this on dry land!"

"Well at least the chemists are a Plan B. Its good to have several plans unlike before the storm where it was pretty much 'Survive'. "

Silence fell between us.

"How goes…the project." I gazed deep in to his eyes.

"Well first of all you don't have to say it like that as if we are doing something secret. Second why are you asking me you should ask the engineers they are the ones building it. And third! Its going well apparently the new engines are far more efficient than anything we have. Got any names for it."

"How does Normandy sound?" I inquired. Truthfully it was a spur of the moment.

"Sounds too French. Try something better."

"Trailblazer"

"Hmm the Trailblazer-class frigate? Yeah I like that."

* * *

 **Hehehe IZ GOOD? Okay sorry for the time passed since last update but University started, and in all their wisdom the professors decided that the best time for Tests is right before Christmas. I been taught by Sadists! Please send help!**

 **Time for dem reviews!**

X9-Killbot: **Okay yeah you right that is indeed a valid thing to complain. BUT YOU ARE STILL A HYPHEN HATER! Thanks for the advice. Part of me beginning this story was to improve my English.**

gabe. .1997: **The main problem with energy weapons in ME is that they are too power hungry to be practical. Plus you have to think about range. Most people think that because they move at the speed of light they have infinite range but the further they lose strength. Mostly because laser usually are just hyper active protons or ions and getting more than two in a straight line is difficult. You can use a laser pointer and if you point at something close you will see a small concentrated dot but at larger distances you will notice the dot becomes larger and losing so of its color. I could be talking out of my ass here so anyone with an actualy degree in physics please correct me.**

DahakStaz: **I am glad you liked the game. Yeah those last days, for me, felt longer than the rest of the game.**

LordGhostStriker: **Sorry University is just UHHHH**

Edelhart: **UNION OF THE FROZEN WORLD SHALL RIZE! It was something that i literally thought at the moment.**

icedshadows: **I despIce you.**

Ronmr: **Its a frozen hell it can't all be sunshine and unicorns.**

largomolo: **Apologies. I tried to convey that the Captain didn't make the Geth immediately thin Quarians are idiots. But more to give him an outside perspective on the situation for them to consider.**

Adam Redmayne: **We are product of our environment. Humanity doesn't have much choice anymore. Its get tough or get rekt. I feel that if i make a sequel of them in space i should add a segment where due to the Cataclysm humanities culture suffered greatly due to loss of art and living in literal black and brown cities depression becomes a serious issue.**

Orez Lanrete: **I hope this chapter explained why he was given citizenship so fast. Mostly because up until now there literally no where anyone can go to so by default they become part of the city.** **You are right big blocks of exposition hurt the eyes and become dull. I will try to fix some day.**

lisbjerg123: **Is this my life now. Frost based pun reviews? I hate you. Its just not ice to do something like that.**

Some guy 161: **Sorry not in this story in the sequel ,if i make it, yes.**

2Xenos: **What are you talking about theres like 800 geth in him. But no its just him, unless they salvage the other part of the ship we might add repair drones.**

Willum: **You have been heard sir and i ANSWER.**

tdy4234: **I complete agree about the Frostpunk to be filled with potential crossover. I actually have some idea right now. Which i ask you guys would you like me to post another Story with my ideas for Frostpunk or would you like it to just shove an idea at the end of every Chapter.**

 **Reviews are always welcome! Have a nice day!**


	12. Chapter 12 Christmas Special

**Merry Christmas you crazy fools! May your bellies be full and homes warm!**

* * *

 _Dear Diary_

 _Hello, again, it's me Jimmy. I wanted to tell you about my day. It's Christmas today! As you know, I have told you before, I hate it here. Its cold, it smells and I don't see my mom all day. We have to stay at old lady Gertrude all day unless we are sent to help at the workshop. But today was different._

 _I woke up today, got up to clean my teeth and get dressed but this time mom wasn't in my bed. No she sleeps in my bed not me in hers. I am big boy! I keep her warm and safe. So as I was saying it didn't pay attention so I went to leave the room. And then SURPRISE. All the grownups were up and talking and mom was there too. She told me there was something special for me under the heater. I was so confused. I went to the heater and there was box there. With my name on it. THERE WERE NEW TOYS! BEST DAY EVER. THERE WAS TOY AUTOMATON AND THERE WAS A TOY ZEPPELIN AND A TOY SOLDIER. Also clothes but you know. BORING. Lily, my neighbor, was there too she got a doll and a tea set and all sort of other girly stuff. Yuck._

 _Then the Morning bell rang. But it was weird usually mom and others would rush to the meeting before going to work. But they told us to come with them._

 _That's when we left the building and IT .WAS .AMAZING! It was like we were back in London. Everyone was walking and talking. I saw Johnny and Eric with their families. But all that was nothing compared to the central square (though I don't know why they call it square since it's obviously a circle) and the generator. There were tents everywhere and everything was colored. There was red and green all over the generator. It was so pretty. The Captain gave some boring old speech about being alive and together I am sure it was_ _inspi..inspe_ _…inspirational. And then he finished with that it was free day. I got to spend the whole day with mom and my friend!_

 _We got tea and it was Sweet! SWEET CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? Mama said they had found a stash of sugar on one of the expedition. The last time I had candy was when we were back in London last Christmas. There were games like shooting and throwing balls. You could win all sorts of toys. I of course won the most. No matter Ashley says. She is a liar! Then the lunch came._

 _And it was big! There were tables set up all around the generator enough for everyone. There was so much food for everyone. There were rabbits, wolf and even bear meat, potatoes , sweet tea and even that sour things that adults like to drink. Wait I almost forgot. The Automaton were all colored in Christmas color some of them even had lights. The engineers had modified them with seat and we were given rides around. It was so scary but so awesome! After the feast there was music. They brought out that piano from the public house. Mama wanted to dance. It was so embarrassing. But._

 _Mama was smiling. It wasn't that smile that she gave when it was dinner time in London and she would always push more on my plate even though she was hungry. It wasn't the smile that she gave when I ask her if she was okay when she came back from work exhausted and cold. No it was a real one._

 _Mama was happy and so was I. Maybe this city isn't so bad._

 _PS. Me and Eric snuck into the factory, where mom works, and discovered all sorts of toys. Mama doesn't know but I know her secret. She is Santa._


	13. Chapter 13 City Tour and the Dome

Cold Machines

Chapter 13

 **Whats up folks. Been a while huh? Hoo 3 months he he...uh oh look a chapter please dont stab me**

 **This chapter is mostly filler. Its also the biggest one and is more comedy and information centered.**

* * *

 **POV Geth**

"Woohoo we get a free day" exclaimed Leon-Guard extending his hands towards the sky.

"Cool your head Leon we didn't get a free day, we are supposed to familiarize our new mechanical friend with the City." Said Jacob-Guard

"Incorrect. This platform is mostly electronic. And Geth code is digital." They corrected. No part relies on moving parts, however one could make the argument that the synthetic muscles are mechanical thought they are controlled through electric signals and have apparent moving parts.

"Electro what? Nevermind we must begin the tour!" said Leon-Guard.

"Let me handle this, kid" Ivan-Operator said.

"But…"

"Come on Leon, Ivan probably knows more about this city that both of us together." Jacob joined the argument.

"Da, now as you are aware the center of the city is the Generator, it provides the entire city with heat and electricity. It's a massive coal-powered power plant in a sense. It's also the place where we hold the morning gathering. It's at 8 o'clock. it's not mandatory but it's recommended. In the beginning we built wherever we could as close to the generator as possible however in the last 6 months the city has seen massive restructuring. It's divided into three circles around the center. "Began Ivan-Operator and extended his hand towards the local area.

"This is the Central Ring. Its main purpose is housing for the people. It's also where the administration, cooking houses, schools, library, Medical, food stores, pubs and other things required to keep the population safe, fed and educated are located." The Geth saw several problems with such a system but decided to let the human finish.

"Then there's the second ring: Food production and Light Industry and Research. We call it the Support Ring. It handles the hot houses where we grow our food, wood, wool and leather stores, the workshops where we research this new world, there are also smaller factories where our clothes are made and wood is processed into furniture or paper."

"And last the Heavy Ring. Everything needed by a modern civilization. Factories that produce everything from toys to automatons, chemical plants, coal and steel stores, coal mines and thumpers. This is also restricted area for children so no tours. A kid almost lost his hand."

"That's the main city; however beyond the Heavy Ring are the Wall Drills. They mine the wall for wood. There are also some emergency resource caches but those don't concern you. Now on top is the dome how this bloody thing works is beyond me, however it houses the Radio Beacon, Tesla Field and Hangar Bays. They used to be the Hunter Hangar's but not much alive out there. Questions?" –finished the older human.

The Geth had several concerns. So after a millisecond of compiling in a proper way, they began.

"We have noticed a problem with the city design. It would far more efficient if the Heavy Ring was right near the Center and the exhaust pipes simply connected to the Generator Exhaust. Not to mention for organics being near the Generator would be detrimental for their continued well being." They said. Ivan- Operator shook his head up and down and stated.

"That was the plan originally however if a factory or chemical plant suffers an accident it may result in an explosion, which could damage the Generator. Not only but should the Dome fail the safest and warmest place would be near the Generator."

"Affirmative. We require more knowledge about the "Tesla Field"."

"For that you will have to talk to an engineer who works on it."

"Understood."

"Then we should meet with Chief Engineer Smith. If she is available, of course. Dome control is heavy duty. "Jacob supplied "She was an engineer from Tesla City and worked on the field before she left."

The Geth had a lead on one of the designers of the technology. They needed to know more about and it's potential. Could it be more efficient than kinetic barriers? With the current technological level of the humans its highly unlikely but applying Geth technology to it might give a better result.

City shield were never considered by anyone in the galaxy mostly because of the Ban of Orbital Bombardments on a Garden World and Element Zero cost. However this Tesla field did not use Element Zero.

Suddenly several alarms blared in the Geth consensus. Two unknown figures were closing fast. They were small and agile moving through crowd almost unhindered. Could they be hostile? There was a 1.356% chance that they were. The Geth opted not to take offensive actions until intentions were proven. However they would warn the possible target of the Unknowns.

"Jacob-Guard, behind you." Unfortunately Organics do not possess the ability to analyze information at the speed of light. The small figures slammed into the human knocking him down face first.

* * *

 **POV Jacob Nash**

He should be used to this. He really should. But in the end how can someone get used to being the target of a coordinated tackle of two children. There is simply no way. Was he alright? Yes he presumed, his face hurt but otherwise everything was great. Wait a minute. Why are they here? They should in school!

With the strength of mildly obese bear I rose while the two parasites still clung to me. Most likely trying to slow me down.

"There better be a good explanation for this." I stated hoping to be as intimidating as possible.

"We love you Jacob!" The two little ones said in unison while giving him the biggest smiles they could muster.

God Damn it. They were manipulative little things but he loved them too. No focus. Authority!

"Why aren't you in school?"

"The Teacher said we can leave!" they answered in unison .

My eyebrow rose automatically at that. It was almost reflex these days. Usually because Leon would come up with another "great" idea for fun.

"She did."

"Well she said get out and think about what you did. So we went out and thought about it. She didn't say we should return." Technicalities. Of course.

"And why were you told to leave."

"For disrupting the lesson."

"Uhhhhhh! Fine why are you here?"

"Because you are greatest brother ever?"

My eyes narrowed. They wanted something.

"We heard that you escorted an automaton from the stars so we came for the info."

"What? When? How…Already?"

"Yeah, the kids several grades below saw him and it was pretty much open season then."

"Why would you need information about that?"

"It's the biggest thing since they started building that ship, Jacob! Our schoolmates are gossiping like crazy and we have to be on top of this. Popularity Must Be Maintained! And you have the goods!"

"And here I though schools was for learning. How wrong I was."

"It's alright big brother. We all make mistakes. Well not us but others do."

"I can see why you were kicked out of class. Well then girls I would like you to meet my friends"

* * *

 **POV Geth**

The Little ones were…noteworthy. They were half of the size of Jacob-Guard but shared several similarities with him. They neck long brown hair with little colorful fabrics on top of their head. Their face was round and clean. Their smiles were extremely wide showing off white teeth.

"This is Leon Briste, Ivan Michailovich and Geth." Said Jacob-Guard pointing at each of them when saying their name. " And these are my sisters, June and July." Pointing at each when giving their name.

The girls were now hiding their sibling's legs. They quickly exchanged position before stating.

"I am June" said July-Sister.

"And I am July" said June-Sister.

Was this some sort of information warfare? The Geth could easily see through it.

"And I am lost, who is who again?"- inquired Leon-Guard. Human sensors must be quite inefficient if they can not notice the 46 evident differences in the two twins. That's when they noticed them staring at them with awe. Suddenly an ancient memory from a time long past resurfaced.

* * *

 _The Young Quarian girl was staring at the Geth platform. Her father had bought them to help with household chores. The child slowly approached them. She raised her hand to touch them but millisecond before contact she retracted her hand and ran off._

* * *

Returning to the present the two girls were slowly approaching him just like in the memory. However there was o rejection here. When they touched his leg they both exclaimed.

"Coooool!"

And the flood came. Flood of inquiries. "Why are you here? Are there more of you? How far away is your home? Does your eye shoot lasers?" and many more all undecipherable to any mind but a synthetic. A list of non-classified answers were prepared.

"Hold on leave him…them alone" intervened Jacob-Guard grabbing both of them with one hand each and lifting.

"Sorry."-they squeaked. Their eyes suddenly fell on Ivan-Operator.

"Oh it's Santa."

"Thieves." He simply stated.

"What? What did you do?"- demanded Jacob-Guard.

"He helped us get our ball from the roof of the pub!"

"You don't have any balls."

"Well yeah we are girls." They grinned.

"No I mean…"

"Some kid kicked up there and they wanted it. I was in a good mood so I brought it down. Then a mother came demanding answers about her son's ball."-Ivan-Operator interjected.

"Sorry." Even the Geth did not believe that.

"Hey what about me?" said Leon-Guard.

Jane-Sister and July-Sister looked at each other.

"Ah yes the skirt chaser. Our brother warned us about you." June said looking disgusted. July mirroring her.

"What have you been teaching them about me!?"

"Nothing but the truth…chill out they are just yanking your chain"

"So where are you going?"-inquired July

"To find housing for the Geth."

"Oh oh oh can he stay with us?"

"No."

"Oh come on."

"He…they need a bed, their own space."

"Incorrect. We do not require any of said elements. We do not sleep. We only require a power source to recharge."

"Seeeeee! He can come with us at home and then we can show him off at school."

"No. Now go back to school." Jacob-Guard was more serious this time.

"Fine." June-Sister and July-Sister showed reluctance but they still obeyed. They left only stopping to give a wave goodbye. It was decided that they should return it.

"Sorry about that. Children are excitable and stubborn. They meant no harm." Apologized

"They have committed no hostile actions against this platform."

"Okay lets go to I think house 23 has free space."

* * *

After a short search, despite the several reminders that they do not require a sleeping quarters, a room in house 23 was found. The rooms was of utilitarian design of having triple layered walls a simple bed, dresser, a heater mounted on the wall, a small window to allow light to enter the room, a light bulb hanging from the ceiling.

Ivan-Operator informed that additional furniture and objects are not bought, due to the City not having currency, but requisitioned. Everything in the city is rationed. However if they desire luxury goods they could file a requisition order and in return they work an extended work shift for several days. The additional hours are upwards from 4 hours. The Captain encourages people to learn how to craft themselves by offering classes for simple machinery and carpentry. That is helped by the fact that tools and materials are free for requisition.

After analyzing this information the Geth discovered a serious push towards automatons and higher education. At first they considered that maybe the city was moving towards full automatization due to it being more efficient. However when considering the current situation, the reason becomes far more tragic. The Captain was moving people from dangerous jobs to safe ones to ensure that they do not die. The population of this city was around 700. This could be the last of the human species. Every human dead could be their end.

Now they move towards the generator again. They seek Anna-Chief Engineer. They entered an elevator on the side of the generator that would take them to Dome Control.

"Well that's not a sight you see every day." Remarked Leon-Guard.

"What are you talking about we just saw this while going down from the Entrance." Said Jacob-Guard

"Yeah but that was from the outside and this directly in the middle. Hey Ivan you are quiet. Ever seen something this incredible"

"Moscow. From the communication tower, that I was stationed for short time. It wasn't directly in the center of the city but you could see the city go on for kilometers. Most powerful transmitter and receiver in Europe. We could hear radio broadcast from all of Europe. The city was alive all the time. Even at night it was so well lit that you wouldn't suspect that sun is gone. And now it's probably nothing but a mass grave."

Jacob-Guard put his hand on Ivan-Operator's shoulder. "We will rebuild"

"Damn right we will! Even better that before." Leon-Guard exclaimed.

They knew that this was, as the organics call it, an emotional moment. They decided that words of support would be appropriate.

"As long as you live there will be a future"

"...Спасиба…it means thank you"

"You are welcome Ivan-Operator."

"Umm Ivan…sorry for bringing such things."

"Kid you didn't, I did. But its good thing to remember the old world. Whats the phrase "It's better to have had and lost than to have never had."? Never giving up what makes us human I guess."

"Enough of such depressing conversations, We are here.

As the doors opened they were met with sight of a torus shaped control room around the generator tower in a state of controlled chaos. Engineers and apprentices watched over readouts and a reporting changes. On the inner wall there were several people surrounding a woman with half her body inside a wall panel.

As they approached she got out. She was around her early 40s with short blonde hair that was dirtied by oil. She wore a suit made of leather and rubber with many tools attached all over her body, on her was a small lamp shining brightly. Her face sported a rugged look and her most noticeable attribute. A black eye-patch with a white cog drawn on to it.

"And next time before you declare that the Tesla accumulator is going to explode please check that there isn't a fried switch in the differential engine." She said as she tossed a blackened piece of metal at the closest of the crowd."Now disperse I don't want to see your faces until I get my next ration of moonshine"

"Chief Engineer Smith, this is our newest citizen Geth he has some questions." Said Jacob-Guard.

"Ah yes the hottest rumor down below. Hmm let me see" she approached them, gave them a look over, rested her hand on the platform's chest and said "Yup, Definitely non-human origin"

"Wait how did you…?"-asked Jacob-Guard

"Well I will save the long explanation about human technological progress and how it's impossible to create something of this sophistication and size at this point in history so I will give you the obvious thing. It's not powered by a steam engine that much is obvious as I did not burn my hand; it doesn't have a differential engine as it doesn't have any sign of inner movement, and most obvious it's not built in human image. Three fingers on the arms and the legs are backwards. We humans have some sort of god complex. That or it's because we already have a basis which we can copy. Chief Engineer Anna Smith it's a great to meet you!" Anna-Chief said as she extended her hand

"Greeting Chief-Anna we have interest in your technology" they answered as they shook her hand. However something was different. Human hands were soft and we could easily get a reading on their internal bone structure when shaking them. This hand however they could not get a reading.

"Ahh you must have noticed" she said as she removed her glove. Instead of the expected pink colored hand they were met with a steel prosthetic shaped in the form of a human hand. On its side was crossed out the stamp "Tesla Manufacturing". "A gift from our benevolent tyrant Nikola Tesla."

"Tesla city was another settlement." They have heard the name several times.

"Yeah and I was there. Started out well enough. Until the genius turned madman not that it was a hard transition. He made us work until we lose our limbs and those that lost them had them replaced. But there was only so much one could replace. So he started kicking them and the sick out. I spoke against him and well i guess he didn't like that. But he paid the price as I was one of his engineers working on the Tesla Field. I was responsible for insulation of the emitter. "

"We have no knowledge of what transpired in the Tesla City. Was it some sort of accident."

"Nikola Tesla ,the leader, wanted to build a field to protect the city from the weather. As I said I talked against him and got kicked out. He must have put some else in charge who had no knowledge of the project. He turns on the machine, the emitter isn't insulated and instead of creating an electro-static shell around the city it created a sphere that electrocuted everyone inside it. There is probably a lesson in there somewhere."

"We would like no more about the Tesla Field."

"Its pumps electricity around the city and creates an electro-static shell which keeps things out. It does have the unintended effect of screwing compasses inside of the city. "

"The power output of the steam power generator cannot handle the energy demands of such a field."

"That is correct." Anne-Chief said with a grin.

The Geth were stumped. How can a system function where more energy is used up than generated?

"Give up yet? You see we recycle. Around the edge of the dome we have a copper circle. The energy moves from the top of the Dome where the emitter is to the bottom towards the circle. Creating the electro-static field on its path while the excess energy goes into the copper circle. From there it is fed to specialized accumulators called Tesla Accumulators which in turn feed back into the system."-she explains. It was obvious.

"The Generator only needs to provide enough power to make up for the lost during the transfer from the emitter to the circle."

"Ding Ding Ding, We have a winner! Of course that's why we can't turn it off. If we turn it off it would take a 2 days for the generator to charge up the StartUp Accumulators. "

"We noticed several hangar doors. How are they used without destroying any object leaving or coming."

"That was simple. We simply extend an insulated semi circle wall around the emitter. It stops it from arching on that side of the dome while continuing work on the other. Its not a perfect solution since we can't keep it there indefinitely."

"Understood. We would like access to blueprints of the device if possible."

"Ohh. I…You are going to have to ask the Captain for permission to those. I mean everyone has access to it. But Its just that people have no reason to be poking in those unless you work in the Dome. I mean you had access to them in the library but I would ask first with the Captain to avoid any problems."

"Affirmative. "

"Now its my turn! Do tell what is that weapon on your back?"

The Geth saw no reason not tell her about the weapon. It pulled it out slowly.

"This is the X592-23 type PR. It is Pulse rifle which fire high-energy phasic slugs."

"Phasic? As in charged?"

"Correct it quite effective against enemy shields."

"Shields?! Like physical or like sci-fi energy."

"Kinetic barriers can be considered energy shields but they only protect against kinetic attacks."

"Okay this is way over my head. Look I got work today. So how about we meet tomorrow after you get those blueprints I can explain how it functions and you can tell more about this?"

"That is acceptable."

"See Ivan some people appreciate when I offer them a date." She turned towards Ivan-Operator.

"Aren't you a little young to be chasing after me?"

"Figures the only person who thinks of me as young would be you, dustball." She answered and winked at Ivan-Operator who in return simply sighed.

* * *

The day was long and their battery needed charging. So with the end of second shift the geth returned to their sleeping quarters. There wasn't anything else but to hook up to the electricity grid, go to standby and review all gathered information.

In the morning before the end of third shift an unknown entity entered the room. Switching from standby to awake they rose to meet the unknown. There standing In front of them was Leon-Guard in full battle gear. Rifles slung over his shoulder, a sidearm in the holster, what appeared to be a flak vest, and a steel helmet with a light.

"There is an emergency. We have to go to meeting square." Before stopping for a second. "Bring a weapon."

* * *

 **I am answering Reviews here but if you want a direct answer instead of looking for the next chapter PM me.**

Pteaset: **Yeah well it is how it is. If you like it then it doesn't bother me. I pretty sure i didn't do a good job with this one either. But you all are world renowned critics so please stroke my ego.**

thetyrant67: **Yeah should look into a Beta reader but you know. Lazy as Fuck over here plus my post schedule is about as consistent as the economy in war.**

Wom1 **: Actually Frostpunk is set in AU. You can check the Frostpunk Lore where things actually happened differently beginning with Charles Babbage actually building the first difference engine instead of it remaining only an idea. About the Battarians yeah you are right they are still in the Citadel will fix that later. Also i move the Geth Uprising because if it happened to cannon but Geth would be uprising right now. They wouldn't have wanted to leave the Perseus Veil. Iceland you say? Well thank you this will be useful after all, iceland has this great thing called geothermal power.**

randomidiot1816 **: I am think tripods for War of the Worlds. With black smoke coming out of its top and speakers broadcasting demoralizing messages:"Surrender is acceptable, but your death would be preferable"**

Coment9 **: I only do things i know about. Sorry. Plus I barely update this one. A second would be doomed beyond chapter 1.**

DahakStaz **: Could happen in the future but it will a long time for humanity to comprehend basic concepts. Without a basis for understanding a Neanderthal can smash a plasma rifle all day long he still wont figure it out.**

icedshadows: **You think you are Cool with your puns huh?**

Draed: **I am too far in**

MythianTechCorp: **Here almost 3,5k words of pure fluff! Also humanity wont be leaving Earth. Its ours and it shall stay ours!**

Adam RedMayne: **I still haven't figure out what kind of new upgrade New London gets but thank for the ideas.**

somedudewilson: **Yeah thats what i meant. Damn ME need to tech up.**

skywardwanderer: **Yes they do. The Trailblazer isn't a spaceship. Its long range land frigate kind of like a scaled down dreadnought.**

Qinlongfei: **I have mentioned before that I am a supporter of HFY stories but i prefer them when they are believable. Going to be honest the ME canon isnt even plausable because humanity goes from being locked inside our system (2148) to fighting the Turians and having several space colonies (2157). The hell kind of retrofit and colonization effort was that?**

 **I know that the Geth is the most interesting part but i still need to show what has happened to the humans.**

goofball305: **Yeah but pew pew. Quote me on that for a science journal**


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